Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika Act 4, Scene 6 Summary

  • Hannah and Prior are in the emergency room.
  • Emily, the nurse, fusses at Prior for not taking better care of himself.
  • Prior says he can't breathe; he's sure he has pneumonia.
  • Emily tells him to stay where he is, then leaves.
  • Prior says that ever since he saw the angel he can't stop running. He's afraid he's going crazy.
  • Hannah tells him he's not crazy, he just had a vision. She talks about how Joseph Smith saw an angel in upstate New York 170 years ago and founded her religion.
  • Prior thinks that's crazy.
  • She tells him it isn't polite to disrespect other people's beliefs.
  • He apologizes but says he just doesn't agree with a lot of the things she believes, especially when it comes to gay men.
  • "You don't make assumptions about me, mister; I won't make them about you," she says (4.6.23).
  • This seems reasonable to Prior.
  • She tells him she was mad when Joe first told her he was gay, but she realized that it wasn't the homosexuality that made her mad. Still, though, two men together just seems awkward to her.
  • Prior asks if the Bible says anything about what God does to prophets who don't answer their calling.
  • "He... Well, he feeds them to whales," says Hannah (4.6.36). (She's talking about the story of Jonah and the whale.)
  • They laugh together.
  • Prior has a coughing fit. He says he's scared of going through another bad spell.
  • Hannah tells him to toughen up.
  • Suddenly, Prior starts to get an erection. He tells Hannah that the angel is coming.