Equus and Its Relation to Social Constructivism

EQUUS and its relation to social constructivism

Equus is about a 17 year old boy (Alan Strang), who had a fascination with horses since ages 6. He was employed at a horses ranch but shortly after became institutionalized because his obsession with animals lead to a mental break down; which resulted in him viciously blinding 6 stable horses with a metal spike. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist was assigned to his case to discover through hypnosis the motive behind his action. During therapy the psychiatrist not only unraveled the factors that contributed or lead to the child’s behavior, but also secretes about himself. Alan’s mother was highly religious but his father on the other hand was timid and was against the religious teachings of the mother. Both were helicopter parents.

I will attempt to psychoanalyze Alan’s life and show how his behavior may have been socially constructed. As previously discussed, to say something is socially constructed is to say it would not have existed had we not created it. Take for example new knowledge which is actively constructed as we interact with our environment. Alan Strang, is considered to have a mental illness because his behavior is outside of societal norms. Society is who defines mental illness and makes the distinction between what is mad and bad. A story is told by Ian Hacking, (pg. 20-21) about Albert Pitres’s family having some members being hypochondriac, suggest that our thoughts can manifest into physical symptoms and make it seem like we have a real illness. One’s behavior could be a response to stressors. When Albert goes into his so called demented or amnesia state and goes on a fugue, his trips are often planned as evidenced by him gathering money and hydrating himself before his journey. Like Albert, Alan’s actions are planned; he sneaked out at nights and put shoes on the hoofs of the horses to conceal evidence that they have been outdoor. In the case of Alan, the over protectiveness and religious