Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Bridling Masculinity: The Horse as Symbol in Riders and The Horse Whisperer

Olsson, Maja LU (2026) ENGK70 20252
Division of English Studies
Abstract
This essay examines how masculinity is negotiated through equestrian symbolism in Nicholas
Evans’s The Horse Whisperer (1995) and Jilly Cooper’s Riders (1985), situating both novels
within the cultural context of late twentieth-century neoliberal Britain and the United States.
Drawing on masculinity studies, neoliberal theory, and animal symbolism, the essay argues that
the horse functions as a central symbolic mediator because masculine ideals become legible in
horse-centred scenes—riding, training, competition, and care—where authority must be enacted
through a living animal that both enables and resists control. Through a comparative close
reading, the study demonstrates that The Horse Whisperer constructs a model of masculinity
... (More)
This essay examines how masculinity is negotiated through equestrian symbolism in Nicholas
Evans’s The Horse Whisperer (1995) and Jilly Cooper’s Riders (1985), situating both novels
within the cultural context of late twentieth-century neoliberal Britain and the United States.
Drawing on masculinity studies, neoliberal theory, and animal symbolism, the essay argues that
the horse functions as a central symbolic mediator because masculine ideals become legible in
horse-centred scenes—riding, training, competition, and care—where authority must be enacted
through a living animal that both enables and resists control. Through a comparative close
reading, the study demonstrates that The Horse Whisperer constructs a model of masculinity
grounded in restraint, empathy, and ethical care, most clearly articulated through its depiction of
human–horse rehabilitation and attentive handling, framed within a rural environment associated
with emotional repair and relational presence. In contrast, Riders presents a hyper-performative
masculinity shaped by competition, visibility, and social ambition within the elite show-jumping
circuit, where horses operate as commodities and extensions of masculine status. While Riders
largely displays neoliberal masculinity, The Horse Whisperer offers a partial critique by
relocating masculine value away from domination and toward care, though both texts remain
shaped by neoliberal logics of individual responsibility. By foregrounding the horse as a
symbolic frontier between care and control, the essay shows that equestrian relationships stage
masculinity as a boundary practice: characters must continually negotiate whether competence is
demonstrated through domination, emotional restraint, or ethical attunement. In doing so, the
essay offers a new comparative reading of The Horse Whisperer and Riders, demonstrating how
equestrian symbolism shapes representations of masculinity in late twentieth-century neoliberal
fiction. It suggests that literary representations of human–horse relationships reveal the fragility
and contradictions underlying contemporary masculine ideals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Olsson, Maja LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENGK70 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Masculinity, neoliberalism, equestrian symbolism, human–horse relationships, animal studies, Riders, The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans, Jilly Cooper
language
English
id
9223160
date added to LUP
2026-02-23 12:08:52
date last changed
2026-02-23 12:08:52
@misc{9223160,
  abstract     = {{This essay examines how masculinity is negotiated through equestrian symbolism in Nicholas
Evans’s The Horse Whisperer (1995) and Jilly Cooper’s Riders (1985), situating both novels
within the cultural context of late twentieth-century neoliberal Britain and the United States.
Drawing on masculinity studies, neoliberal theory, and animal symbolism, the essay argues that
the horse functions as a central symbolic mediator because masculine ideals become legible in
horse-centred scenes—riding, training, competition, and care—where authority must be enacted
through a living animal that both enables and resists control. Through a comparative close
reading, the study demonstrates that The Horse Whisperer constructs a model of masculinity
grounded in restraint, empathy, and ethical care, most clearly articulated through its depiction of
human–horse rehabilitation and attentive handling, framed within a rural environment associated
with emotional repair and relational presence. In contrast, Riders presents a hyper-performative
masculinity shaped by competition, visibility, and social ambition within the elite show-jumping
circuit, where horses operate as commodities and extensions of masculine status. While Riders
largely displays neoliberal masculinity, The Horse Whisperer offers a partial critique by
relocating masculine value away from domination and toward care, though both texts remain
shaped by neoliberal logics of individual responsibility. By foregrounding the horse as a
symbolic frontier between care and control, the essay shows that equestrian relationships stage
masculinity as a boundary practice: characters must continually negotiate whether competence is
demonstrated through domination, emotional restraint, or ethical attunement. In doing so, the
essay offers a new comparative reading of The Horse Whisperer and Riders, demonstrating how
equestrian symbolism shapes representations of masculinity in late twentieth-century neoliberal
fiction. It suggests that literary representations of human–horse relationships reveal the fragility
and contradictions underlying contemporary masculine ideals.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Maja}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Bridling Masculinity: The Horse as Symbol in Riders and The Horse Whisperer}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}