Equus (Act I - Scene 06)

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Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Vocabulary 2 Plot summary 2.1 Characters involved 2.2 Plot 3 Interpretation 4 Go to

[Bearbeiten] Vocabulary

page	English	English explanation	German translation
25	indulgent	tolerant, patient	duldsam; maßlos
25	menopause	natural cessation of menstruation between the ages of 45 and 55, climacteric	Wechseljahre
26	lad	young boy	Bursche
26	unsettling	worrying	beunruhigend
26	sedative	a drug to keep calm	Beruhigungsmittel
26	to cling to sb	to hold fast to sb, to stick to sb	sich anhängen
27	swizz	a lie/disappointment	Schwindel/Enttäuschung
27	spoilsport	sb who ruins the pleasure of sb else	Spielverdeber
27	beeswax	you can make candles with *	Bienenwachs
28	disgrace	bitter defeat	Blamage, Schande

[Bearbeiten] Plot summary

[Bearbeiten] Characters involved

• Martin Dysart
• Hesther Salomon
• Nurse, Alan Strang
• Frank Strang
• Dora Strang

[Bearbeiten] Plot

At the beginning of scene 6 Dysart blames Hesther for his nightmare (scene 5) of the other night, because she was the one who introduced him to Alan Strang as a patient. "Anyway, all this dream nonsense is your fault" (p.25, l.29) notices Dysart, as the boys and girls he sacrificed in his dream appeared with Alan’s face. Dysart is concerned to have such a boy in his medical treatment, especially because Alan has "the strangest stare [he has] ever met" (p.26, l.4).

Hesther is surprised to hear that Dysart was able to make Alan speak some more. When Dysart mentions Alan’s bad nightmares, the nurse comes to report about the incident of last night. Alan was screaming in his dream and given sedative as a consequence.

At this point of scene 6, Alans mother Dora, and father Frank join the scene for a second, but leave instantly. Alan appears here and replies to the question Dysart asked two days ago: His dad forbids him to watch TV, for he has the strong opinion that television stultifies people. Instead of watching TV, he should better read books (Frank claims television is a "swiz" (p.27, l.20)). His wife Dora tries to defend her son, however, Frank is in such a rage, determined that his house is not the right place for a TV. He is very obstinate and shown as some kind of “old-type socialist” (p.28, l.10).

Hesther asks about Alan’s mom. She’s a high school teacher, a fact which Alan seems to be proud of. Alan bets that his mom and he know more history than Dysart, so he starts questioning the psychiatrist as a sort of contest. It appears that Alan indeed knows more than expected. One of Alan’s questions is: “Who said ‘Religion is the opium for the people’?” Dysart’s answer “Karl Marx” is not accepted by Alan but changed into “Mind your own beeswax” (p.29, l.15), which seems to be one of his dad’s figures of speech. The scene ends with the annunciation that Dysart is going to visit the Strangs’ home on Sunday to find out more about Alan and his situation at home. This scene is is sort of a diloque between Hesther and Dysart, but with Dysart telling things happened earlier. But instead of Dysart telling the story himself it is acted out by e.g. Alan or the Parents.

[Bearbeiten] Interpretation

Dysarts blame on Hesther is an affirmation of his unhappiness with this case. He says "you feeling unworthy to fill a job. I feel the job is unworthy to fill me." to Hesther, here continues the meaning of his dream. He thinks the case of Alan demands sparse of him. But the reality is that he does not understand this boy. That's probably the first time for him that he does not understand the action of a patient.

[Bearbeiten] Go to

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