The Angel of America Character Analysis

The Angel of America is the symbol of all that is fantastic, imaginative, and otherworldly in Angels in America—in other words, most of the play. The Angel—a hermaphrodite, but for the purpose of this summary, a “she”—appears before Prior Walter shortly after Prior is diagnosed with AIDS, suggesting that the Angel may not, in fact, be real, but only a hallucination Prior is experiencing. Nevertheless, as the play continues, the Angel shows up to frequently, and speaks with such a unique voice, that we have no choice but to regard her as a character in the play—independent, complex, and real. It is the Angel who tells Prior that Heaven is in a state of disarray, thanks to God’s preference for human beings. The Angel, jealous of humanity for distracting God from her fellow angels, wants Prior to spread the message “Stop moving” around the world. In other words, she wants to compel human beings to stop being human. While the Angel doesn’t seem to like human beings much, she also seems sympathetic to Prior’s AIDS, and—it’s suggested—saves Prior’s life by blessing him with health and life.