Elephant Man - Christine Sparks [70]
They sat there together, the beautiful woman and the ugly man, their intense communication of sympathy wiping away all difference between them. Treves watched them in wonder, but made no attempt to interrupt. He knew they had both forgotten him.
Chapter 13
“It seems we may have to revise our ideas about the mother,” Carr-Gomm mused, turning the photograph over in his hands. “Possibly she existed as he remembers her.”
“Possibly, but I’m still not convinced,” said Treves. “There’s no proof that this picture is of her, and no way of knowing how he got it. He says he’s always had it, but that may simply mean he picked it up so long ago that he’s forgotten.”
“That’s true I suppose.”
They were sitting in Carr-Gomm’s office the morning after the tea party at Treves’ house. The Chairman had insisted that Treves come along as soon as possible and let him know how it had all gone, and Treves had been able to do so with a certain amount of pleasure. Despite some of the disconcerting events of the day before he felt Anne’s meeting with Merrick could be called a success.
“On the other hand,” he said, “it may be as you say. She may be his mother and his memories of her may be substantially correct. I doubt if we shall ever know now. At any rate I haven’t hurt his feelings by letting him know my doubts.”
“Very wise. And you’ve also allowed him to continue believing that his mother was charged by an elephant, apparently?”
“I haven’t mentioned my own scepticism to him. I saw no point. If it comes to that, I don’t know for certain that it isn’t true. She may have been, although I doubt very much whether it would explain his condition. I certainly don’t believe the ‘African isle’ part of the story, and I think John’s just repeating what he’s heard from Bytes and others like him.
“I haven’t said all this to John because I think the truth would be hard for him to bear. It’s just about tolerable for him to think his condition is caused by a tragic accident when his mother was carrying him. But to tell him that nature made him that way …”
“I see. Yes, of course.” Carr-Gomm nodded and stared again at the picture. “I wonder where he got such a good frame for this.”
“I can tell you that, sir. My wife gave it to him just before he left us. She took one of our own photographs out of it, and said the best gift she could give him was a way to protect his mother’s picture. He was so overcome I thought he was going to break down again.”
“Mrs. Treves bore the visit well then?”
“Extraordinarily well. They seemed to understand each other quickly in a way that took me weeks to achieve. John constantly surprises me. I thought he’d told me everything, but I’d never suspected the existence of that picture. Yet he brought it out to show Anne at the first meeting.”
“A woman’s sympathy will often have that effect, while the most up-to-date medical science will fall short.” Carr-Gomm handed back the picture. “You’d better return this to Mr. Merrick. I’m sure he doesn’t like to be parted from it.”
Treves rose to go. “Sir, was there anything in the mail this morning?”
“Very little, I’m afraid. But I haven’t given up hope. I cannot believe that the British public, whom I have always believed a kindly people, will refuse to come to this man’s aid. I shall speak to the Times again, and let you know if anything comes in. In the meantime please convey my kindest regards to Mr. Merrick.”
Nora was beginning to regard her duties with the Elephant Man as a test of her suitability as a nurse. On the day of her first encounter with him, when she had screamed and dropped the tray, she had waited for a moment alone with Mothershead, and apologized for her unprofessional reaction.
“It was just seeing it …” she explained.
Mothershead had regarded her with stern kindness. “Patients here are not ‘it’s.’ They are either ‘he’s’ or ‘she’s.’ But that’s all right, Ireland. This one is going to be more work for all of us.”
Since that day Nora had tried her hardest to see the Elephant Man as a “he.” She had tried to tell herself that he was an