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Ondine She's got everything she needs, She's an artist, she don't look back. She's got everything she needs, She's an artist, she don't look back. She can take the dark out of the nighttime And paint the daytime black. --Bob Dylan 2005-11-27 9:31 PM Equus, Passion, and mental health Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (2) |
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I went to see Equus with Jenn and friends today. The play was amazing, powerful, heartbreaking. I thought a lot about it on the ride home, and I realized I disagree with the author's premise that curing madness stops passion, desire, and one's sense of awe for the mystery of life. Mental illness breaks you, it does not set you free. It numbs you so that any desire is lost in the murk of depression and despair. Pain is crippling, paralyzing, as is fear. Anger repressed and misdirected can be lethal to oneself or others. The doctor was stricken because he believed if he alleviated the boy's pain, the boy could no longer feel passion. However, the boy had already destroyed that part within him. When he was confronted by a choice between loving his god and another person, he blinded the horses he worshipped. After the year I've had helping Joe cope with his illness, I feel a lot of frustration from the premise of this play. It seems to say there are only two choices: madness or soulessness. I just don't believe it. There is rebirth and empowerment. There is taking responsibility and finding the courage to be creative, to love, to trust. There is humor and there is passion. One does not need to be mad to have a soul. |
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