Sammane 1

Maya Sammane
Ms. Smit
12 AP
19 November 2014
Disorder Resulting in Derangement:
Analysis of Peter Shaffers Equus through a Structuralist Lens
Depending on factors that influence the way people view aspects of their lives, many
people have a fixed notion about what is socially acceptable and what is truly perceived as
normal when it comes to certain parts of life, such as religion and ethical views. Amongst
society, each person may deal with difference of opinion about normalcy in different ways. Some
people may be tolerant of peoples opposing views, while others may find distaste in this
discrepancy and try to argue with the opposition to convince them of what truly is acceptable. In
Peter Shaffers play, Equus, there is a central struggle between characters through how they deal
with religious differences in the family.
Equus involves two views of religion that belong to a married couple. The existence of
contradictory beliefs between the married characters of Frank and Dora Strang is arguably what
leads to the eventual emotional/mental breakdown of their son, Alan Strang. Through the
psychoanalysis of Alans condition by psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, Martin realizes that one
strong factor that plays a role in this emotional demise is the fact that Alans parents constantly
attempt to infuse Alans mind with what is religiously true in their opinions. Through a
Structuralist point of view, it can be seen that Frank and Dora serve as binary opposites to reveal
how extreme opposing influences in Alans life lead him to believe in one unconventional
religion and experience a traumatic downfall after committing an inconceivable offense.

Sammane 2
Alan Strang is a young man who finds himself caught in a web of uncertainty when his
parents drown their son in what they believe to be the correct views of God. Alans mother,
Dora, is a devout Christian while Alans father, Frank, is a committed Atheist. Alan is unsure of
what to believe, and in the process of being forcibly taught about these opposing viewpoints,
Alan creates his own religion that aims to worship horses (one horse in particular, named Nugget
[Equus]). A culmination of influences that Frank and Dora impose onto Alan can be viewed as
the result of why Alan ends up losing hold of his sanity and blinding six horses in a local stable,
which has also been referred to as Alans traumatic downfall. When viewing the play as a
whole, it is important to note the contradictory elements in a text that reveal a common meaning
(binary opposites), which in this case, are the opinions that Frank and Dora impinge onto Alan.
Critics who focus on Structuralism in literary works would recognize how the actions of Frank
and Dora ultimately relate to each other causing a final, brutal action to be carried out by Alan.
In viewing the ways that Frank and Dora communicate with their son through Structuralism, it is
imperative to make observations about how the parent-child relationship governs the play as a
whole.
A notable contradictory trait between Frank and Dora that could have resulted in Alans
downfall is that Frank does not maintain enough communication with his son while Dora often
gives her son more attention than is necessary. In act one when Frank and Dysart are speaking
about daily home life, Frank says that Dora and Alan have always been as thick as thieves and
that Dora can always be found teaching Alan about the Bible, dosing it down the boys throat
which clearly Frank has an objection toward, being an atheist (33-34). In contrast, when the
psychiatrist asks Frank how much Alan knows about sex, Frank unknowingly replies with a
simple, I dont know while Dora admits that she has thoroughly taught Alan about the birds

Sammane 3
and the bees. A structuralist critic would find it important that Dora constantly teaches her son
about Christianity and sex while Frank hardly even communicates with his son enough to know
what goes through Alans mind. The lack of communication with his father in combination with
being figuratively suffocated by his mother is one reason why Alan is led to seek comfort and
guidance in Equus, the religious symbol of his own religion.
As previously stated, Dora and Frank have shown to approach teaching their son about
what they believe to be morally correct in their own inherent ways. Dora is outspoken while
Frank is brief without explanation. However, one instance in which the couple reacted the same
way can be looked at as a cause of why Alan has become so pious toward the horses. As a child,
Alan was at the beach and met a person who was riding a horse. He invited Alan to ride with
him, and Alan found a distinct passion in the way it felt to ride a horse. He found freedom in not
being bound to one specific belief. Immediately, however, his parents see him riding the horse
and force him to come down. The common disagreement of Alan riding the horse between Frank
and Dora leads Alan to be even more obsessed with horses in the coming years. Even though this
is the opposite of binary opposition between Frank and Dora, it is a notable aspect of the text
because both parents, as controlling figures, agree that they do not want Alan around the horse.
This serves as an even stronger reason for Alan to want to worship horses in general.
After Dora teaches Alan for several years about the joys of worshiping God, he feels
impelled to hang a picture of Jesus Christ on his wall. However, it is quite the grotesque picture
and not the typical representation of Christ. Alans mother does not believe in interfering too
much with children so she allows him to do so even though she does not approve with the light
that the picture shines on Christ (Shaffer 45). However, Frank becomes disgusted by the thought
of his son worshiping a higher power, so he rips the image from the wall and replaces it with the

Sammane 4
picture of a horse. In viewing the degree of aggression between the two actions, it can be seen
that Dora is passive and allows Alan to do what he wants, while Frank will not stand to see his
son adhere to a belief that he does not agree with. Frank and Dora, therefore, show another major
example of binary opposition through the way they deal with opposing religious belief. Dora
does not interfere with her son, but Frank acts through aggression by showing his son that it is
frowned upon to show appreciation toward a higher power. The reactions of Dora and Frank go
hand-in-hand, and eventually lead to what may be Alans own metacognitive connection; since
he used to show appreciation toward the religious image of Christ on his wall, he naturally
associates religious affiliations with the horse image and begins to worship horses instead.
The all-powerful, constant influence of opposing viewpoints toward religion in Alans life
are what drives Alan to create his own religious outlet that nobody could force him to believe in,
but one that he could freely worship and appreciate. The fact that Alan had no sense of absolute,
distinct direction in his life, shown by the constant battle between favoring Christianity or
Atheism between Frank and Dora, is a possible reason as to why he becomes devout in his own
religion that drives him to commit the horrible act of blinding six horses.
Works Cited
Shaffer, Peter. Equus. New York: Penguin Group, 1973. Print.