1
Jacqueline L. Barry
Mortensen
WRI 101 – N
March 25, 2012
Angels in America, in Terms of the Millennium
“The millennium is, one can say, the storm of storms, the storm after which
there will be no more storms,” Martin Harries contends in his essay, “Flying the
Angel of History,” an interpretative take on Tony Kushner’s award-winning play
Angels in America (p. 188). He is referring to the significance of the third millennium
as an age promising new ideas that are fraught with perils as well as desires,
creating a psychological “storm” in the characters’ lives that threatens their
livelihoods. They ponder the fates of their loved ones and struggle to foresee the
future of the environment and political systems in the wake of this disaster. I agree
with this view in that the millennium – whether a reference to the coming of the
year 2000 or an impending religious event– acts as a violent storm in the play that
disrupts the lives of Kushner’s characters. However, while Harries only briefly
touches on this theme in his essay, in reality the imminence of the millennium and a
new age are crucial ideas that underlie the development of the characters in Angels
in America. The triumph of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement, the treatment
and elimination of AIDS, environmental action, the advent of the prophet and even
the second coming of Christ act as symbols of change pertaining to the turn of the
2
century. Fear of this great storm and what lies in wait drive each individual to
his/her own affliction.
Anxiety towards change, progress, and the “new” is evident in nearly every
scene of Angels in America. A prime illustration of this occurs when the Angel makes
her memorable entrance into Prior Walter’s bedroom, and greets him as the Earth’s
modern-day prophet. “Go away,” Prior tells her, uninterested and fearful of her
request. He is sick with AIDS and has most recently been abandoned by his lover.
While Harries adds that Prior has heard the storm that is coming for him while other
characters, such as Louis, appear less affected (p. 191), he neglects further analysis.
As the days pass, Prior’s life virtually ticks away. The dangers of the not-too-distant
future are as evident as the lesions on his body. He is plunged deeper into the
madness of his disease, knowing that there is no way out. Prior is in and out of
hospitals and suffers great emotional and physical pain. He has no desire to fulfill
the role the Angel has offered him, particularly when the tone of the new age is so
threatening. His sickness appears to be prevailing while his relationships
deteriorate in front of him. And yet, by the end of the play, it is apparent that Prior
has salvaged a new hope for the future. Instead of remaining in the safety of heaven
surrounded by angels, he chooses to return to Earth, despite the social issues and
debilitating disease that await him. This transformation occurs when Prior convenes
with the rest of the angels in heaven, who argue against progress and the dangers it
poses to the world their God has created. Prior soon finds himself in a strange
position. He stands up for humanity and supports the social and political choices we
3
have made, even though many of them have personally hurt him. He chooses life, a
dramatic display of his newfound faith in the world to improve and eventually
eliminate the social discrimination he has faced throughout his life. Moreover, the
millennium becomes less of an all-consuming storm that threatens the quality of his
life, and more of an opportunity for positive change.
Harper, Joe’s Valium-addicted wife, is driven by similar fears as the
millennium approaches. She ponders the possibilities of the new year, and their
significance in a dying world that’s so-called “safety net” (the ozone layer) is
becoming riddled with holes. She fears for the future of the environment, but also of
its inhabitants. What if Christ does return, she speculates, but is dissatisfied with the
Earth and decides to destroy it? Her apocalyptic vision thrusts her into an
intricately- controlled hallucinatory world that, in a sense, “saves” her from the
disheartening reality that awaits her at home in Brooklyn. While Harries mentions
her fears of the sky collapsing, the “terrible rains and showers of poison light” (p.
189), the illustration ends there. In truth, Harper perhaps best explains the storm
that awaits the characters in the play. She is intensely preoccupied by ideas of
natural disasters, storms, and the like and so chooses, whether consciously or not, to
escape into her hallucinations. A memorable example is her “trip” to Antarctica with
her travel agent, Mr. Lies. With zero population growth, silence, and only the natural
world surrounding her, Harper finds solitude and relief from the everyday
dysfunctions apparent in living in New York City. As the coming of the millennium
grows closer, her fears become more outlandish. Only chance encounters with other
4
characters – particularly Joe’s mother – and forcing herself to participate in the “real
world” allow her to develop into a healthier individual. At this point, her
hallucinations appear to end abruptly and her interactions with the others seem
normal. Her fears of Earth’s future in the hands of irresponsible leaders develop into
hopefulness and even optimism as the year comes to a close. As she sits on an
airplane and observes the sky and clouds next to her, she contemplates a dream she
once had where the ozone layer was miraculously and naturally healed on its own.
The souls of the departed, perhaps those with similar fears to her own, floated
above the Earth and clasped hands, creating a “web of souls” that patched the holes
in the sky. This powerful vision was able to restore Harper’s faith in humanity, and
her desire to participate in it.
Louis, who has abandoned Prior in the wake of his trials with AIDS, voices his
fears of losing Prior and desperately attempts to rekindle the love they once had. His
fear of losing Prior as the millennium approaches, the one person he truly loves who
is unfairly suffering from tremendous pain, creates a storm of grief that threatens to
destroy him. Harris references this storm in his inclusion of a dialogue between
Louis and Belize where Belize tells his friend to cheer up, and sarcastically, to “look
at that heavy sky out there” (p. 190). Yet, Louis is tormented by a different storm
that surpasses the power of the physical one over the city. In fifteen years the
millennium will arrive, but Prior’s prognosis does not last that long. Louis cannot
fathom living without Prior for the rest of his life – already, since he has left Prior,
his life has been falling apart. He believes that he will forever be alone. In this sense,
5
the millennium represents an age of loneliness and despair. Only once he has come
to terms with the imminent death of his lover is he able to progress as a character.
He obtains closure in his relationship with Prior while forgiving himself for his
mistake. He admits that it was his fear of watching his boyfriend slowly die that
caused him to leave, not because he didn’t love him. Although Joe’s love for Louis is
unrequited, he retains strength through his relationships with the other characters
and their friendships ultimately save him. While he still appears pessimistic about
the future of the world by the end of the play, it is clear that he has matured and
developed into an active member of society. He vows to participate in the global
changes he desires and puts a reciprocal effort into his relationships. He obtains an
ability over time to weather the storm that threatens him, which to Louis
symbolizes Prior’s imminent death.
In Angels in America, the millennium represents a storm of new concepts and
constitutes a variety of changes in Kushner’s characters. The audience can observe
their development as a group of people bound by the apocalyptic views they share,
and then as a newfound hope that enlightens them. Whereas in the beginning of the
play abandonment was relevant as a central theme, the characters responsible for
this – mainly Harper as she deviates from the real world, Prior in his departure from
the Earth, and Louis in the loss of his lover – transform into more optimistic
individuals who are rallied together in the final scene. Although the threat of the
storm that Harries alludes to is ever present even on the final page of the play, the
group’s perception of it has changed dramatically. They are prepared both in mind
6
and spirit for what awaits them; fear has evolved into a mounting hope for a
progressive future. Despite the ominous shadow of the “storm of all storms” in the
background, life will persist, Prior decides, and must progress; “The world only
spins forward” (p. 280).
7
Works Cited
Harries, Martin. "Flying the Angel of History." Approaching the Millennium: Essays on
Angels in America. Eds. Deborah R. Geis and Steven F. Kruger. Ann Arbor,
Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1997.