Equus

In Equus, horses have a complex symbolic significance, anchoring the play’s central psychological and spiritual questions in their physical and metaphorical presence. For most of the characters aside from Alan Strang, horses represent ordinary or even mundane meanings, tied to social status, class identity, and pragmatic utility. Dora, Alan’s mother, associates horses with a nostalgic reverence. She remembers him preparing to ride, “all dressed up in bowler hat and jodhpurs” (37), signifiers of a higher social class. Her tone is one of quiet pride, reflecting a middle-class association with horses as part of an orderly and benevolent tradition. In this light, horses are symbols of propriety and caretaking rather than passion or worship. For Frank, Alan’s father, horses are tied to economic reality. He sees them as part of “dangerous” (48) images romanticized by religion or advertising, as well as class discrimination. He detests the irrationality horses might inspire. To Jill, Alan’s co-worker at the stable, horses are neither sacred nor mythic. She sees them as animals she loves, but also as creatures she is comfortable with. She invites Alan to the stable out of friendliness, not reverence. Her familiarity with the horses is casual and confident.