Mrs Tremblay

14/9/15-19/9/15

We discussed the contextual aspects of Equus (mental health, religion, politics and lifestyle). I then wrote about mental health:

Peter Shaffer’s Equus and its relevancy to mental health:

The play Equus is based around Alan Strang’s act of blinding six horses with a metal spike. This prompts people to question, not only his motives, but also whether or not it is an act of evil, or that of a mental health disorder. This was and is quite a controversial topic as many people find it difficult to picture someone considered mentally well committing a malicious act, and so prefer to think of them as mentally ill so their act can, in some form, be explained. However, this isn’t always the case.  A widely recognised explanation of what constitutes a mental illness is that of the National Institute of Mental Health:

‘A health condition that changes a person’s thinking, feelings, or behaviour (or all three) and that causes the person distress and difficulty in functioning.’

Whether or not Alan Strang is mentally ill is further explored via the role of the psychiatrist Martin Dysart. However, it is difficult to argue that Alan is not in some way mentally ill due to his motives being tied to his belief that horses are God. It is because of this that many have argued Alan has schizophrenia or bipolar, as he is blatantly suffering from delusions.

Peter Shaffer himself, however, didn’t believe psychiatry was a worthwhile practice, and stated:

‘I’ve often wondered, because of my frequent sojourns in America, how much good psychiatry and all the rest of it was doing those of my acquaintances who were in treatment. I know a couple who appear to have benefited from it, but most, whatever they may think, haven’t changed at all. I began to wonder some time ago whether it might not be a false religion with a lot of worshippers.’

We then talked about Alan’s religious extremism and the rituals that stem from this. We were able to relate his religion to mutated forms of stories he was told as a child, and also related the play in general (particularly the relationship between Alan and his parents) to the Greek myth about Oedipus. We made further connections to Greek mythology with the comparative names of Dysart and Dionysus (the Greek God of wine and parties). Another name we found contextual references with, was that of Dora- who relates to the psychoanalyst Freud (see notes).