The Elephant Man

Mrs. Kendal:
Why, Mr. Merrick, you're not an elephant man at all.

John Merrick:
Oh no?

Mrs. Kendal:
Oh no... no... you're a Romeo.

Dr. Frederick Treves:
Am I a good man? Or a bad man? That's all...

John Merrick:
I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!

Carr Gomm:
Can you imagine the kind of life he must have had?

Dr. Frederick Treves:
Yes, I think I can.

Carr Gomm:
I don't think so. No one could possibly imagine it! I don't believe any of us can!

Mothershead:
Sir! I don't quite... I don't quite understand why it is you allow that sort of people in there.

Dr. Frederick Treves:
Why? Because he enjoys it, and I think it's very good for him.

Mothershead:
Yes, but, sir, you saw the expression on their faces. They didn't hide their disgust. They don't care anything about John! They only want to impress their friends!

Dr. Frederick Treves:
I think you're being rather harsh on them, don't you, Mrs. Mothershead?

Mothershead:
I beg your pardon!

Dr. Frederick Treves:
You yourself hardly showed him much loving kindness when he first arrived, did you?

Mothershead:
I bathed him, I fed him, and I cleaned up after him, didn't I? And I see that my nurses do the same. And if loving kindness can be called care and practical concern, then I did show him loving kindness, and I am not ashamed to admit it!

John Merrick:
There's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time now.

Dr. Frederick Treves:
What's that?

John Merrick:
Can you cure me?

Dr. Frederick Treves:
No. We can care for you, but we can't cure you.

John Merrick:
[matter-of-factly] No. I thought not.

John Merrick:
People are frightened by what they don't understand.

Bytes:
Life!... is full of surprises. Consider the fate of this creature's poor mother, struck down in the fourth month of her maternal condition by an elephant, a wild elephant. Struck down!... on an uncharted African isle. The result is plain to see... Ladies and gentlemen... The terrible... Elephant... Man...

Dr. Fox:
Have you ever mentioned his mental state?

Dr. Frederick Treves:
Oh, he's an imbecile, probably from birth. Man's a complete idiot... Pray to God he's an idiot.

Plumed Dwarf:
Luck, my friend, luck. Who needs it more than we?

John Merrick:
[haltingly] Hello... my name is... John Merrick.

John Merrick:
My life is full because I know I am loved.

[last lines]

Merrick's Mother:
Never. Oh, never. Nothing will die. The stream flows, the wind blows, the cloud fleets, the heart beats. Nothing will die.

[first lines]

Skeleton Man:
Get rid of them! I don't want to see them!

Fat Lady:
Darling, don't be difficult! Let's take our sweet lovely children on an outing.

Mrs. Treves:
I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Merrick.

John Merrick:
I'm very pleased... [John begins to cry]

Dr. Frederick Treves:
What is it, John? What's the matter?

John Merrick:
It's just that I-I'm not used to being treated so well by a beautiful woman...

John Merrick:
[after seeing pictures of Dr. Treves' family] Would you care to see my mother?

Dr. Frederick Treves:
[surprised] Your mother? Yes please. [John pulls out a small portrait]

Mrs. Treves:
Oh but she's... Mr. Merrick, she's beautiful!

John Merrick:
Oh, she had the face of an angel! [sadly] I must have been a great disappointment to her.

Mrs. Treves:
No, Mr. Merrick, no. No son as loving as you could ever be a disappointment.

John Merrick:
If only I could find her, so she could see me with such lovely friends here now; perhaps she could love me as I am. I've tried so hard to be good. [Mrs. Treves begins to cry]

Dr. Frederick Treves:
Abominable things these machines - you can't reason with them,

Night Porter:
[to Treves] Only Mothershead can sack me now.

[unknown to the night porter, Mothershead is behind him, she who proceeds to clobber him over the head, rendering him unconscious]

Mothershead:
[in a satisfied voice] Done!

Dr. Frederick Treves:
Because of the extensive area covered by papillomatus growths, the patient has been called "The Elephant Man".

Bytes:
He's the greatest Freak in the World...

Bytes' Boy:
[Bytes is lashing Joseph] Bytes! No!

Mothershead:
If you ask me, people are laughing at him all over again.