(Act 01 – Scene 09)
In the ninth scene of act one, Dysart asks some questions to Alan. Instead of answering, Alan inquires counter questions. That’s not usual for Dysart so he doesn’t respond because it’s not his job. His patient tries to turn the tables on. He doesn’t want to subordinate to Dysart. The only resort of Dysart is to cooperate with Alan because otherwise, he wouldn’t get his answers. He feels very uncomfortable as Alan starts to ask Dysart about his privacy. He wants to know what kind of dreams he has and if he’s married. Maybe this interests him because he didn´t have had any contact to other people before he was in the clinic. When Dysart asks him about Ek, Alan is very surprised about his knowledge about Ek. He hasn’t expected a question like this because he never told someone about Ek. He only dreamed of it but he didn’t know that the nurse noticed that. In his helplessness, he starts again to sing a commercial song. Every time a question is not likeable to him, he sings. Maybe these questions deployed a bad memory and he wants to disperse them with singing. It’s a reaction of Alan to keep the people away from his interior. As Alan sings it twice, Dysart notices that he has to change his tactic. So he ends the therapy for that day after ten minutes. With this, he shows to Alan that he can’t do everything with Dysart. Alan reacts aggressive and offends him. When Dysart threaten Alan with the nurse and observes that he hasn’t any chance against her, Alan accepts this and thinks about a solution. Suddenly, he tells Dysart a part of his story…
(Act 01 – Scene 10)
In scene 10, Alan appears to become equitable. The whole time he didn’t want to talk about himself and about experiences in his life. The conflict in scene 9 seems to have changed something in Alan. Suddenly he starts to talk about his first meeting with a horse. It was on the beach. He answers Dysart’s question. That’s a big step for Alan because he doesn’t obey to nobody. Alan reports that he was a little boy and that he was digging on the beach. He was building a sandcastle. It’s not normal for little kids that they are alone at the beach to build castles. The reader asks himself if the parents are not able to look after their son. It’s very irresponsible of them to let their six year old boy alone. Alan reports of noises from a horse like in a faire tale. The hooves that he hears are evocative of a fairy story. He seems to dream about this experience. Alan tells to Dysart that he was stopping the horseman. This shows that he was very excited about this animal. It was a beautiful encounter for Alan. With all his interests, he asked the horseman how his animal called. Already when Alan was six he had the habit to don’t answer the questions that people want to hear from him. The horseman said to Alan that he build a ‘terrific castle’. But Alan gives all his attention to other things, in this case to the horse. From this moment, Alan didn’t say any word to the horseman anymore. He just nodded and let his desire free run. The horseman put Alan on the horse which called Troja. Without saying any word, Alan was excited and got big eyes. When he sat on Troja, it seems to me that a dream came true for Alan. He held power in his hands. All he had to say was ‘bear me away, Troja’ and the horse did everything Alan wanted to. He wasn’t afraid as a little boy, just totally out of breath. When his father came on the beach and saw what Alan was doing, he was very angry. He destroyed Alan’s dream. Even if Alan said that ‘it’s lovely’, his father wanted him to come down the horse. His father has the role of the destroyer. He doesn’t grant Alan some fun. He is a bad person for Alan because he took him away from Troja and from a little piece of freedom. With the panic which the parents got they show that they totally go over the top in such little things. It has to be really hard to Alan. They have too many worries about their little boy. They hem Alan in. He doesn’t even have any space to breathe. Alan just wanted to laugh, he wanted to have fun. But his father doesn’t. Frank just overreacted. Since this day, Alan never was on a horse, he said to Dysart. He didn’t care to, although he worked in a stable. This story appears to make a big cut in Alan’s life. After this conversation, Alan starts to give counter questions again. He wants to know a secret of Dysart. Alan wants equality. But Dysart doesn’t play this game with Alan and just tells him something about a recorder, on which his patients tell him secrets about they don’t want to talk with Dysart himself. He proposes Alan to use it, but he just things that it’s stupid. But for all that, he takes it with himself.
(Act 01 – Scene 11)
The picture of Jesus which Alan bought from his own money seems to have a certain, very important meaning. When his father threw it away he cried for days. I think this picture was so important to Alan because of his religious mother who tells him often things about the bible and about Jesus. Perhaps he compared his life with Jesus' life who had suffered many pains and had seen a lot of cruel things. His mother told him a lot of stories about horses. This is maybe the reason why he replaced Jesus' picture with the one of the horse. He might associate them with the memories to his mother and the told stories. There is a special relation between these two pictures: He is fascinated by both pictures and he will always remember them from is childhood. So the picture of the horse took the place of the Jesus picture, Equus took Jesus´s place.
(Act 01 – Scene 12)
In scene 12, Dysart meets with the stable owner Dalton. Dysart is happy that he came because he wants to hear another part of the story. Dalton is very angry about the occurrence and doesn’t think that Alan gets the right punishment. For his opinion, he should be in prison, what shows that Dalton isn’t interested in the setting of Alan’s story. He doesn’t want to know why Alan did such a horrible thing; he just wants the moderate fine. He also cares about Jill, the girl who brought Alan in the stable, because she had a nervous breakdown. She feels responsible. But instead of understanding her, Dalton just wishes she’d never brought him in the stable. He gives her the fault for Alan’s action because she didn’t even know him by bringing him to Dalton. He has to admit that Alan was really good in doing his job. It’s not easy for him to say this because he concurrently has to confess that he acted amiss. He saw the wrong person in Alan and nobody wants to confess that he was wrong. Dalton presumes that Alan rode the horses secretly. He guesses that he took the horses out at night. On some days, they were abnormal sweaty in the morning. But Dalton didn’t pay much attention for this because he trusted Alan. Maybe he wants to see Alan in prison because he doesn’t want to accept that he made a big mistake by trusting Alan blindly. He wants to punish him because Dalton himself made the mistake. He gives Alan the fault for trusting him because he behaved himself so good. Dalton thinks that Alan beguiled everybody with intent. Therefore he is so angry. Dysart doesn’t understand why Alan should ride at night even if he has the chance to do it by day. But Dalton thinks that it isn’t his job to answer this question. He doesn’t even try to get into Alan’s mind and doesn’t want to understand him. At the end of act 12, Dysart listens to the tape of Alan. The only thing you come to know is that something "was sexy" (page 32). You can only expect that Alan talks about riding.
(Act 01 – Scene 13)
In scene 13, Dysart listens to the tape from Alan on which he spoke about his problems. Alan reports his history. It’s very difficult to him to talk about the meeting with the horse on the man on the beach. Actually, he wouldn’t give an inch with Dysart’s questions. He’d better keeps silent in things which show his real feelings. But on the tape, he get over his blockades an talks about the horse on the beach. When he was sitting on the horse, he was very excited that this animal does everything Alan wants to. If he would ride faster, the horse went faster. It seems that this was the first time Alan holds such a power in his hands. All the time before, he was tributary to all people, but this time, the horse was. Thenceforward, he was totally attired in the movement of horses, the way they move and in their skin. He never saw such a sweaty, beautiful skin. Alan also talks about a history his mother always told him when he was a little boy. It’s a story about a horse called Prince. No one knew the name of Prince excepting himself. When the story was about dashing sours against Prince’ flank, Alan was shocked. He doesn’t understand how the humans could be such bad to horses. He doesn’t like that horses are ‘made’ for the people and that they made them to their property. He’d rather be a cowboy who knows how to treasure them. A cowboy is a sign for freedom. Alan wants to be free and wants to be coequal with the animals, especially horses. Also a cowboy is self-concentrated and is alone on the way. Alan doesn’t want to be with his mother anymore. He hates her dictatorship and her speeches about god for instance. He wants to get an own opinion and doesn’t want to have the same one as his mother. He wants to live his own life. Again, he resists to be a person who is made by other people how they want him to be.
(Act 01 – Scene 14)
In scene 14 the bad relationship between Frank and Dora becomes apparent. Frank can't talk about his feelings and apprehensions with or in front of Dora. That's why he comes to Dysart to talk to him confidential. Frank is nervous and embarrassed, but he can't keep silent any longer. He knows that his observance is very important and so he brings himself to talk about it. Many times, during referring, he says something bad about religion, like it's bloody and it's the bottom of all the problems. A form of hate comes out of his sentences. He blames Dora for Alan's act, since she always drills a lot of religion stuff into him, behind Frank's back. But that's not the only problem Frank has with the religion of his wife. He aches for love. Corporal love with his wife. But Dora can't give it to him. She wants to live with the rules of God, who doesn't allow senseless sex. Through this abstinence she takes Frank and herself a wonderful part of life, and gives also a curious relation to Alan. Seeing Alan, lying on the floor, praying to a horse god called “Equus” and beating himself, Frank is shocked. He doesn't know, how to talk about it with Alan, and so he keeps silent. But his anger grows. His anger for Dora and the religion, that is at the bottom of all this. After telling this to Dysart, Frank seems to be eased. He knows that was a very important step. Not only for himself, also for Dysart to have the possibility to help Alan.
(Act 01 – Scene 15)
In scene 15, Alan and Dysart have a conversation. Dysart thanks for the tape of Alan but he just says that this was the last time he did something like this. The reader recognizes that it was really hard for Alan to speak about his past and about his problems. It was so difficult for him that he’ll never do it again. Dysart realizes that Alan doesn’t want to talk about the tape and changes the theme. He asks by whom he was introduced in the stable. Alan answers in short sentences. He doesn’t talk by himself, Dysart has to ask him at first. They start to talk about Alan’s work before he was in the stable. He worked as a shop man in an electric store. His Dad made this proposal because he thought that Alan hasn’t got the aptitude to work for him. This have to be really hard for Alan to hear something like this because it shows that his father doesn’t have any believe in Alan. He doesn’t think that Alan is good enough to work for him. Also his mother doesn’t really support him. She only thinks that shops are common. It seems to be mindless whatever Alan does, the parents are not satisfied. Alan loved his job put his parents didn’t care. But when he said that it would be fun to spend every single minute with electrical things (page 38), he doesn’t appear to be happy. Maybe he did this job not because he loved it, but because he wanted to do something against the imagination of his parents. It follows a scene with a few costumers and Alan. He attends them. He is something like a slave to them because he has to do what they want. Again, it seems that Alan is tributary. He doesn’t feel comfortable by serving people. It’s against his honesty. In the story of Alan suddenly appears a girl named Jill. She asked for some electrical things, too, but Alan doesn’t care about her questions. He asserts that she works at Dalton’s stable and is much more interested in this fact. Jill often saw him in front of the stable. This means that Alan was there before and stood there for watching. His fascination for horses has never ended since his first meeting with Troja. Jill asks if he is there this often because he watches out for a job, but Alan reform this question and asks her if there is one. His interest isn’t to ignore. He directly answers that he only can work on weekends when Jill said that they need hands every time. The reader gets to know that Alan is more interested in a job on which he has to muck out that in one on which he has to serve people. He is connected with animals. He’d rather works in the dirt than for other people. But when Jill asked him if he can ride, he directly says no. The reader realizes that Alan is still disappointed from his first ride which was ended by his father. Allan is still disappointed.
(Act 01 – Scene 16)
That Alan is reacting such furious is emphasizing that he feels ashamed about the whole Jill/Horses- Thing. He knows that the Doctor now found a really intimate thing for Alan. He never talks about that to nobody. He never wants to. Alan doesn't want to answer the questions knowing that Dysart would find out something he should not know, nobody should know, because Alan knows that this behaviour is not normal. Alan is deflecting from the question by screaming at Dysart, comparing him with Alan’s Dad, because he does not want to answer the question about Jill. For Alan this is a very awkward situation. By answering the questions honestly he would show emotions and private thoughts to Dysart, which would bring the Doctor in a better position.
(Act 01 – Scene 17)
The fact that Alan wants to change rules asking Dysart questions shows that he has become insecure. He asks him very personal questions about his wife and about his sex life with his wife. He wants to know if Dysart does have other girls. These criteria are corroboration for his psychical disequilibrium. Dysart is "pleased" about these questions because they show him that the therapy is working. And on the other side he is very astonished about that because Alan knew exactly what questions he had to ask making Dysart frantic. He hurts him in a very sore point. His reaction shows that the conjecture which arises during reading, that he is not happy with his life, ratifies.
(Act 01 – Scene 18)
The conversation in scene 17 with Alan seems to have made Dysart thoughtfully. Alan asked him if he had another woman but his wife and if he fucks her. That provoke that Dysart thinks about his marriage. He considers what’s wrong in his wedlock. Hesther listens to him but doesn’t give any useful advice. Otherwise, Dysart doesn’t need suggestion. He only wants to talk to somebody about his problems. All over the years, he didn’t talk to anybody about his marriage and about the fact that he is unhappy. He lives with a strange woman in the same house. They don’t have the same interests. The only thing they have together is their job: doctor. It seems that this was the only reason for the wedding. He doesn’t understand why she keeps herself busy with knitting things for orphans. On the other hand, she has no time for his love in Greece. The reader notices that Dysart is mad about don’t having children. He talks a little bit snivelling about this theme. His wife appears to have other problems than children. He is very pessimistic when he talks about his inexistent son. He would become like his wife, he said. Dysart sees the things hopeless. You get the suspicion that he is very unhappy with his life beyond his job.
(Act 01 – Scene 19)
The conversation in scene 17 with Alan seems to have made Dysart thoughtfully. Alan asked him if he had another woman but his wife and if he fucks her. That provoke that Dysart thinks about his marriage. He considers what’s wrong in his wedlock. Hesther listens to him but doesn’t give any useful advice. Otherwise, Dysart doesn’t need suggestion. He only wants to talk to somebody about his problems. All over the years, he didn’t talk to anybody about his marriage and about the fact that he is unhappy. He lives with a strange woman in the same house. They don’t have the same interests. The only thing they have together is their job: doctor. It seems that this was the only reason for the wedding. He doesn’t understand why she keeps herself busy with knitting things for orphans. On the other hand, she has no time for his love in Greece. The reader notices that Dysart is mad about don’t having children. He talks a little bit snivelling about this theme. His wife appears to have other problems than children. He is very pessimistic when he talks about his inexistent son. He would become like his wife, he said. Dysart sees the things hopeless. You get the suspicion that he is very unhappy with his life beyond his job.
(Act 01 – Scene 19)
The hypnosis from Alan tells Dysart a lot about his relationship to the horses. Alan adores horses and he thinks he is able to talk to them, well, not actually to them but to "Equus", who is in all horses. So we can assume that "Equus" is the God of the horses and finally Alan's God. Alan also talks to the poster in his bedroom which is like an altar for him. The stable in which Alan is working is the horse-God’s temple. Alan has to go there to be closer to his God. After Equus told Alan that he wants to save him and that the Rider and the horse need to be one person, Alan starts to ride. The way Alan learns to ride is the hard one. "Fall or Ride" that’s what Equus teaches him. This reminds of his Daddy’s way of education, which is a very hard and strict one. This is the first time we can assume that the poster of the horse has not just displaced another poster; it has displaced Jesus in Equus, in all its meanings. Alan knows that his mum is very religious, so he follows her, but when his father replaced the posters, Alan became confused. From now on he adores Equus, this outline, which he also knows from his mother.
(Act 01- Scene 20)
During reading it seems that Alan replaces the horse with Jesus. The horse is Alans new God. In scene 20 this affirms, Alan dresses the horse sandals made out of sack. In bible stories Jesus is described with sandals, too. Alan seems really to replace the horse for Jesus. It also comes out that Alan seems to be very smart, as he "puts on sandals", so the hooves won’t make loud noises while he is going for a ride with Nugget.
(Act 01 – Scene 21)
As the scene before, this scene is chronological directly coming before the first scene when Dysart has his monologue about Alan and his emotional connection to horses, especially to this one horse called Nugget. In scene one Dysart told us about the connection between Alan and Nugget. Then at the end he says "but let me start properly, in order". With this sentence a narration starts, going about all following scenes of the first act. In this scenes Alan is described as a not very cooperating patient. Just as Equus arrives he starts to open himself. This attends with a step - by - step closer connection between Alan and Nugget. The scenes 20 und 21 are the end of this narration. The current scene, scene 21, is very interesting not because of the interesting dialogues or the fact that Alan gets undressed, but because of the fact that in this scene Alan bares his psyche to Nugget and to Dysart: Dysart stands close to the whole scene, he is part of the whole ceremony Alan celebrates. Resulting to this it’s well to say that in this scene Nugget the horse is the conjunction between Dysart and Alan. We will see later that Dysart is very impressed by this scene - in the first scene of act one he says "I can hear the creature's voice. It's calling me out of the black cave of the psyche" If we combine this quotation with Dysart's dream (I,5) and Dysart’s monologue in I,1 we get a very clear image of Dysart's character: He is distinctly not the self-assure psychiatrist he maybe wants to be but in fact his character is pretty much different - he dreams himself being a priest celebrating sacrifices, he thinks his psyche is a "black cave" - that stands for an unsettled person. He normally does his job without thinking a lot. He doesn't like his job but he does it like he has to. This all changed when Alan arrived. Alan makes him thinking about his own personality. Caused by the bull-headed behaviour of this little boy he starts thinking about himself.
(Act 02 – Scene 22)
It is obviously that Dysart is confused. Dysart is concerned about what is happening with himself. First he thought it was just a "Menopause", which means to be overstrained and to be bored with your life and your job. But now he thinks it must be more than that, because he totally feels at the wrong place in his treating room. In his head are all these big "whys" and he feels in chains, which he can’t get out of at the moment. He feels insecure and alienated.
(Act 02 – Scene 23)
In scene 23 Dora justifies herself to Dysart. She is afraid of being blamed for Alan's situation and wants to explain that it is his own fault. Believing in God she is convinced that Alan is obsessed by the devil. She disavows and cannot see that it is her and Frank's fault. Dora is obviously overstrained with the whole situation. She feels accused for something which she thinks it´s not her fault. Dora goes crazy a second time, the first time was when Dysart visited them at home.
(Act 02 – Scene 24)
In this scene Alan shows his intelligence. He wants to play a game with Dysart. With saying everything was just a lie, he tries to get time. Time to cover his master and all his secrets. Also he shows that he thinks for the future. He has the fantasy of "truth drugs", which he could get from Dysart to tell the truth. Through saying this, Alan shows Dysart, that he's ready to talk about everything. He doesn't want to live longer with his secrets and hopes Dysart could help him to get free of Equus. Maybe as Equus, Alan needs an indirect way to talk about it. He feels the eyes of Equus, which can see him everywhere. But through a pill he would lose his compunction and could refer freely.
(Act 02 – Scene 25)
In scene 25 worship and passion are important themes. Dysart is jealous of Alan, because Alan felt passion Dysart never felt in his life. He compares his unsatisfied life with his wife to Alan's worship. Dysart and Margaret live in different worlds though they live in the same house. The best example is their religious attitude: she is a puritan and he is a pagan. There is nothing connecting them. Maybe if they had children their relationship would be better.
(Act 02 – Scene 26)
With the words "It is all true, what I said after you tapped the pencil" he wants to say that he trusts Dysart and told him the truth. He is not saying that but he wrote a letter because it is the easier way to communicate. "I know why I am here" shows that Alan is aware of his situation and wants to talk with somebody about his problems.
(Act 02 – Scene 27)
First Alan does not want to get "drugs" but actually he would like to talk about his experiences. He is sceptic about the pills. Finally he swallows them nevertheless to make himself talking easier. He retards taking the pills - not because of being afraid of the effect but of saying the truth. When he thinks that the placebo is effective talking is not difficult for him. Alan was asking Dysart about these pills a few times before, first as an allegation. But after a while it seems that Alan is just asking about the pills because he wants to take them as Dysart says in his dialogue with Hesther in scene 25 ,he is ready to abreact´. By giving Alan a cigarette and talking to him in a very close way he is wining Alan’s trust, Alan feels intimate in Dysart’s presence. During the first lines it comes out that Alan doesn’t want to leave the hospital, he never wants to go home, however, he has got the feeling that he CAN´T go home. This is also the first scene in which Alan shows some sensibility and aesthesia for someone else (page 72 Dysart:” because you are unhappy” Alan: “so are you”). This scene and the scene before are the most important scenes regarding to the relation between Alan and Dysart.
(Act 02 – Scene 28)
(Act 02 – Scene 29)
When Jill and Alan meet Frank at the cinema Frank is very upset. On the one hand he is angry because he does not want Alan watching TV. On the other hand it is embarrassing for him to be caught. Alan is confused and absolutely embarrassed by his Dad yelling after him. At that point he used Jill as a hideout. He touches her, maybe this is how the wall between them broke.
(Act 02 – Scene 30)
For the interpretation I would say that Frank wasn't scared of Alan as he thought but very puzzled and troubled. He knew exactly what Alan thinks when he sees him going out alone at night just in such a movie. Frank didn't know how to explain the embarrassing situation to Alan so he decided to say something which could help him earning more time to think about and to get rid of embarrassing questions of Alan which could discover his inner conflict and discontentment
(Act 02 – Scene 31)
In scene 31 Alan finds out that his father was always going to cinema at night and that he did not have to work longer like he always says. This verity shows Alan that his father is a human being like him. His father always gave Alan the feeling that he is not worthwhile. But there he saw that his father has blemishes like him. Furthermore he feels sorry for him because of his situation. He estimates his mother to be demure, so that his father has to hold down his requirements by another way. He called him a "poor old sod" and said that he is just like him. This affirmation has for Alan a huge meaning. That is why he feels attracted to Jill after this. For a long time Alan thought that having feelings like these ones would be wrong. But seeing his father in the same situation like he was, he understands that these feelings are not wrong but totally fleshly.
(Act 02 – Scene 32)
In scene 32 Alan's mania escalates. His deportment shows what relation he is having to the horses. He is not able to let himself go being in the propinquity of them. He starts shaking and that shows how he is becoming mad after all.
(Act 02 – Scene 33)
Alan feels harried by the horses; he wants to have the doors locked as an attempt to lock Equus out. He really wants Jill, but he can’t, because of Equus, who knows and sees everything. He tries to get rid of Equus, but he can’t. He is everywhere. Alan feels ashamed, since he couldn’t go all the way with Jill. It makes him angry. Equus makes him angry, because he made him stop. Alan is scared that Jill would tell anyone about this night. He is embarrassed and doesn't want anyone to know, so he threatens Jill. Jill tries to calm Alan down talking to him, but as she saw Alan’s possessed face she got scared and ran off. This scene is very important for the last part. Iit is the first time Alan was talking about his feeling for and about Equus.
(Act 02 – Scene 34)
It seems like there is a strong relation between Alan and Nugget. The reason why Alan is persecuted by the horse is the reason for Alan´s crime. I think there was something on his mind telling him to blind the horses. It is a never ending persecution that Alan will keep in his mind. He feels sorry for what he has done but the horses cannot let him go raping his mind all the time. He is afraid of the horses and of the terrible eyes. He blinded himself hoping never to see the horses again.
