Equus (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Peter Shaffer
- First Published: 1973
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The 1970’s
- Setting: Great Britain
- Genres: Drama, Psychological drama
- Subjects: 1970’s, Family or family life, Sex or sexuality, Individuality, Spiritual life or spirituality, Horses, Psychoanalysis or psychoanalysts, Great Britain, Fundamentalism
- Locales: England
Characters Discussed
Martin Dysart, a British child psychiatrist in his mid-forties. He is suffering doubts about the value of his profession as well as about the worth of his existence. After working with Alan Strang for several weeks and learning about the boy’s intense religiosity, Dysart discovers that he envies the boy his passionate ability to worship a deity, even if it is one derived from the boy’s imagination. He believes that he can purge Alan of his destructive religious beliefs, but he deeply doubts the beneficence of making the boy normal.
Alan Strang, a...
[The entire page is 1029 words long]
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