Mercer to Fletcher

Mercer to Fletcher

Mercer to Fletcher

This letter was written by Dr. Mary Mercer to Jack Fletcher, an employee of United Press International, who she was told may have been able to help her obtain a copy of a very specific picture of Carson McCullers. It was written after McCullers’ death, and truly showed the extent of Mercer’s dedication to her. She sent several letters to four different people over the course of about a month and a half, just trying to get a copy of a picture of McCullers. In one of the other letters, she described it as the picture where McCullers was holding her hands above her head. Unfortunately, a copy of a photo fitting this description was not found in the folder in which this letter was found. Her sense of urgency and longing to own a copy of this picture indicates that she had an immense love for McCullers in some way. It seems that the nature of relationship was certainly much more than just one between a doctor and patient; one may even infer that it was much more than just a friendship as well.

May 28, 1968

Mary Mercer