Obsession is Death
In Peter Shaffer’s play Equus, 17 year-old Alan Shrang is brought to a psychiatric
hospital for blinding horses. The psychiatrist, Dysart, attempts to make Alan normal again. Alan
believes horses are gods and creates a religious ritual with a horse-god in his behavior. Alan has
a bizarre belief that horses, specifically harnessed horses with chains in their mouths, are both
slaves and gods. He develops a sexual appetite for horses desiring to pet their thick coats, feel
their muscular bodies and smell their sweat. Alan reveals that he blinded the horse because it saw
him committing a sin and thus he wanted to blind god from the truth since he viewed horses as
godlike creatures. He realizes that god sees all.
Chains symbolize pain. When Alan chains the horse’s mouth, the author is elucidating
how self-control and self-restraint is required by society. He feels compassion for the horses
