Scientists still don't know for sure what caused Joseph Merrick's head, arms and legs to grow abnormally and transform his face from an ordinary baby into an elephantine man.
During his lifetime, the ordeal was little understood, so he worked as a sideshow performer, using the appearance of his body changes as his only means of gaining a foothold in life.
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In the tragic story of Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man", he wanted to live like everyone else.
A still unexplained condition caused the deformities that transformed Joseph Merrick into the famous Elephant Man of Victorian England.
Imagine a new baby parent having a beautiful and healthy baby boy. At the age of five, your child's appearance begins to change in unexpected ways.
His once perfect lips are swollen. His pink skin thickens and turns a sickly gray. A mysterious lump emerges from his forehead. A sack of meat bubbles from the back of his neck.
Both feet are abnormally large. His right hand is increasingly deformed and gnarled, while his still normal left hand highlights his transformation into what the world sees as a human monster.
This is exactly how a young English boy named Joseph Merrick was transformed into a 19th-century freak showman known as the "Elephant Man."
Early Life of Joseph Merrick
The mother of Commons Joseph Merrick believed that a terrifying incident involving an elephant during her pregnancy caused her son's deformities.
Joseph Carey Merrick was born in 1862 in Leicester, England. By 1866, his unusual appearance began to appear, but no one in medicine understood the cause of his condition. Even today, DNA tests on his hair and bones are inconclusive, so his exact status remains a mystery.
Without medical guidance, his mother drew her own conclusions, recalling an incident when she visited a market during her pregnancy.
An unruly crowd pushed her into an oncoming animal procession. An elephant reared and she was briefly pinned down, fearing for two lives. She told this story to the young Joseph, explaining that the incident had caused his deformities and the pain they caused.
In addition to his unusual deformity, he also had an injury to his hip as a child and a subsequent infection left him permanently lame, so he used a cane to help him walk.
His mother, who was close to him, died of pneumonia when he was 11 years old. Tragically, even among all his other troubles, he called her death "the greatest misfortune of my life."
He left school at this time. The pain Merrick felt from having his appearance made fun of by others and now his mother's absence was too much to bear. But how can a boy who called his own face "...an indescribable sight" live in such a cruel world?
Merrick's family disowns him
Because of the weight on his head, Joseph Merrick had to sit up and sleep or he would break his neck.
As if Joseph Merrick's life wasn't sad enough, he soon encountered his own "wicked stepmother." She arrived 18 months after his mother's death.
Merrick later wrote, "She was the means of making my life a perfect misery." His father also withdrew affection, leaving the boy essentially alone. He couldn't even escape. The few times he tried, his father brought him back.
If he wasn't in school, his stepmother demanded that he bring income to the house. So at the age of 13 Merrick worked in a cigar rolling shop. He worked there for three years, but a worsening hand deformity limited his skills, making the job more difficult.
Joseph Merrick, now 16 years old, wandered the streets during the day looking for work. If he comes home during the day for lunch, his stepmother taunts him that the half-meal he received is more than what he earned.
Merrick then went door-to-door from his father's shop, trying to sell goods, but his speech was unintelligible on his face. His appearance frightened many people, enough to avoid opening their doors. Finally, one day his disillusioned father beat him so badly that Merrick left home forever.
Merrick's uncle heard about his nephew's absence and took him in. During this time, Merrick's falconry license was revoked because he was wrongly considered a threat to society. After two years, his uncle could no longer support him.
The boy, now 17, left for Leicester Union Workhouse. There, Joseph Merrick spent four years with other men ranging in age from 16 to 60. He hated it and realized that his only escape would be catching up with his perversity as a new act.
"Elephant Man" begins his freak show career
During the Victorian era, Wikimedia Commons often provided a way for people with disabilities to earn income by exploiting their differences.
Joseph Merrick wrote to local owner Sam Tor. After a tour, Tor agrees to take Merrick on tour as a tourist act. He got him a management team
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