Equus Contents
- Act One Scene One
- Act One Scene Two
- Act One Scene Three
- Act One Scene Four
- Act One Scene Five
- Act One Scene Six
- Act One Scene Seven
- Act One Scene Eight
- Act One Scene Nine
- Act One Scene Ten
- Act One Scene Eleven
- Act One Scene Twelve
- Act One Scene Thirteen
- Act One Scene Fourteen
- Act One Scene Fifteen
- Act One Scene Sixteen
- Act One Scene Seventeen
- Act One Scene Eighteen
- Act One Scene Nineteen
- Act One Scene Twenty
- Act One Scene Twenty-one
- Act Two Scene Twenty-two
- Act Two Scene Twenty-three
- Act Two Scene Twenty-four
- Act Two Scene Twenty-five
- Act Two Scene Twenty-six
- Act Two Scene Twenty-seven
- Act Two Scene Twenty-eight
- Act Two Scene Twenty-nine
- Act Two Scene Thirty
- Act Two Scene Thirty-one
- Act Two Scene Thirty-two
- Act Two Scene Thirty-three
- Act Two Scene Thirty-four
- Act Two Scene Thirty-five
Psychiatry
Freudian analysis
The central focus of the play is on the patient–doctor relationship between Alan and Dysart. Through their dialogue, the plot and their characters unfold.
Dysart is presented as a Freudian psychiatrist, whose standard methods are to examine the childhood of his patients and to look at sexual and religious impulses. He believes that Alan’s problems are a result of his upbringing, but he is reluctant, at the end of the play, to destroy Alan’s need to have something to worship. His treatment is largely based on dialogue with his patient, using a variety of methods to encourage Alan to talk to him.
Limitations
For Dysart, the psychiatric profession seems to be a placating tool with which to preserve the status quo and prevent children and young people from disrupting society’s norms. This is why Dysart talks about how the ‘normal’ is not necessarily a good thing. He accepts that psychiatry can’t always solve society’s problems, yet at the same time can destroy imagination and creativity. This is represented in Dysart’s dream about sacrifice.
Interrogation both ways
Alan claims to distrust Dysart and his ‘Nosey Parker’ analytical methods, as for example when Dysart offers him the tape-recorder to talk to. However, as their relationship grows and Alan comes to trust Dysart, it is clear that Alan thinks that psychiatry can work and enjoys the attention which his treatment allows him.
Alan also sometimes turns the process around, and asks Dysart probing questions which expose how vulnerable the psychiatrist is. However, he does not have the experience to understand what Dysart can see – that a psychiatric dismembering may be more harmful than beneficial.
Failure
Though psychiatry is a major theme of the play, it does not, in the end, solve anything, since the final scene suggests that the ‘normal’ is not necessarily desirable for a full human life. Alan may be being treated for a psychiatric disorder, but Dysart’s conclusion is that Alan may be more sane than everyone around him.
Recently Viewed
Scan and go
Scan on your mobile for direct link.