Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches Isolation Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)

Quote #7

Harper: Maybe I'll give birth to a baby covered with thick white fur, and that way she won't be cold. My breasts will be full of hot cocoa so she doesn't get chilly. And if it gets really cold, she'll have a pouch I can crawl into. Like a marsupial. We'll mend together. That's what we'll do; we'll mend. (3.4.26)

While imaging that she's in Antarctica, Harper longs to give birth to a child who has adapted to their frigid surroundings. It seems like the child is yet another imagined cure for Harper's terrible loneliness. Notice that the image of Harper crawling into her own child's pouch is the opposite of what happens with marsupials in nature. It seems like with this inversion of nature, Harper is longing to somehow take shelter in a child.

Quote #8

Prior: Are you... a ghost, Lou?
Louis: No. Just spectral. Lost to myself. Sitting all day on cold park benches. Wishing I could be with you. Dance with me, babe...  (3.6.21)

Louis' decision to abandon Prior in his time of need has made them both incredibly isolated. Here, at the end of the play, they dance in a dream – reunited for a moment.

Quote #9

Louis: I would really rather not have to spend tonight alone. (3.7.34)

This is the moment when Louis takes Joe home, presumably to bed. Is Louis truly attracted to Joe, or does he just need someone to help him through his self-inflicted isolation?