Peter Shaffer's obsessional "myths/religions" : Amadeus, Equus and Yonadab from a psychoanalytic point of view

Abstract

The notion of religion in the western world seems to have undergone a radical change in the twentieth century; the individual, instead of cherishing an orthodox belief in God, has rather preferred to develop a "private myth" of his/her own, which is in fact engendered by the individual's obsessions. Peter Shaffer frequently displays such an obsession with myth/religion in his plays, especially in Amadeus. Equus and Yonadab. In these plays, Shaffer depicts the predicament one finds oneself in once the individual becomes an out cast, when this obsession becomes so eccentric as to make him/her unable to integrate with society.