The Pain of Forgiveness, 1126 words Doing what is right and what is easy are often not the

same thing. Belize says of forgiveness, it doesn't count if it's easy, it's the hardest thing (Kushner 256). He believes that the pain of forgiveness can be a growing experience, unlike Roy, who would probably view it as weakness. Pain and forgiveness interact to produce growth, where anger cannot. In Angels in America, change is inextricably bound up with pain. When Harper asks how people change, the dummy Mormon Mother responds,

Well it has something to do with God so it's not very nice. God splits the skin with a jagged thumbnail from throat to belly and then plunges a huge filthy hand in, he grabs hold of your bloody tubes and they slip to evade his grasp but he squeezes hard, he insists, he pulls and pulls till all your innards are yanked out and the pain! We can't even talk about that. And then he stuffs them back, dirty, tangled and torn. It's up to you to do the stitching (Kushner 211).

The Mormon mother clearly indicates that personal growth can only be gained through suffering. This is demonstrated by various characters, such as Prior, who's illness takes him on a journey; he starts out weak and dependent, but by the end he is transform[ed] into the play's strongest character(Frantzen 288). However, some characters are resistant to change. Roy boasts about the physical pain he has endured in his life, and declares, Pain's nothing. Pain's life (Kushner 157). Roy has desensitized himself to physical pain, and shut himself off from psychological pain. He is one of the few characters to deny pain, and also one of the few to undergo no internal change. In Perestroika, Act 5, Scene 9, Roy is seen to be the same blood-sucking lawyer as before, calling himself an absolute fucking demon and promising he will sing and eviscerate bully and seduce (Kushner 274). Joe is another character who goes through pain, psychological in this case, but because he allows himself to

experience the pain, he is able to change, telling Harper, But I have changed. I don't know how yet (Kushner 272). By comparing Roy and Joe, it is clear to see that something about Roy's personality, his unwillingness to be vulnerable to pain, inhibits growth, whereas the flood-gates in Joe have broken. While pain starts the process of change, forgiveness offers catharsis and closure to the process. Ethel haunts Roy, taking pleasure in his suffering. But right before Roy is about to die, she visits him in his hospital room, saying I came to forgive, and she ends up singing for him, and then helping to say the Kaddish for him. Ethel had been festering as a ghosts for about 30 years after her death, but after this simple act of forgiveness, she finally vanishes and is not heard from again for the rest of the play. Both the act of forgiving and being forgiven are also beneficial to Louis. After praying over Roy's body, he leaves the hospital transformed, more able to allow for complexity and imperfection in himself and others (Goldfarb 87). After Louis gets a visual representation of his pain in the form of bruises, he is forgiven by Prior, and they are shown to be good friends years later. The pain that Louis felt gave him a yearning to be forgiven and to be taken back, so he was receptive to the forgiveness when it came. The only person to whom forgiveness does not come is Joe, with whom it is clear that the possibility of a true marital union has already been permanently foreclosed (Byttebier 287). His relationship with Harper is irreparable. However, forgiveness is offered to many people, from the scumbag Roy Cohn to the idealistic young Louis. This is because everyone is human, with human problems. Geis writes, From Belize's perspective Cohn, no mater how execrable, cannot be blamed for his own illness, (Geis 53) and Belize clearly feels solidarity with Roy, even as Roy verbally abuses him. Louis and Ethel show that the act of forgiveness is often enriching for those who do it, but the difference in Louis's and Roy's respective responses to forgiveness show that it can only benefit those who are open to it and who can accept their own pain. Angels in America does maintain the aphorism forgive but not forget. Belize and the rest do not forget the sins Roy Cohn committed. The act of forgiveness is not to say we disavow our anger (Geis 53). Ethel and Louis do conclude the prayer with You sonofabitch, a reminder of Roy's past

crimes. Prior also demonstrates this caveat. He says to Louis, I love you I really do. But you can't come back. Not ever. I'm sorry but you can't. It is unclear if Prior declares this because Louis has hurt Prior too badly for their relationship to continue, or if it is a verdict. Louis has been forgiven, but his punishment may be to lose his relationship with Prior. Belize and the rest do not forget the sins Roy Cohn committed. Belize calls forgiveness the place where love and justice finally meet (Kushner 256). The act of forgiveness does function as a kind of ruling on people. It shows love, but also presumes guilt. It bestows both punishment and opportunity for growth. Harper talks about a kind of painful progress (Kushner 275) that keeps this world going. Angels in America shows that personal progress cannot happen with just happy experiences, but does in fact require pain. This pain is only alleviated by the difficult act of forgiveness.

Works Cited

Byttebier, Stephanie. It Doesn't Count If It's Easy. Modern Drama. Vol 54, No 3, page 287, 2011. Frantzen, Allen J. Before the Closet: Same-Sex Love from Beowulf to Angels in America. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1998. Geis, Deborah R. and Kruger, Steven F. Approaching the Millennium: Essays on Angels in America. 2005. Goldfarb, Mical. Making Room For it All: Inclusive Experiencing in Psychotherapy. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Fall 1999, vol 39, no 4, pages 82-93. Kushner, Tony. Angels in America. Theater Communications Group, Inc., 520 8th Ave, New York, NY. 1995.

Retrospective Outline

Pain and forgiveness interact to produce growth, where anger cannot. In Angels in America, change is inextricably bound up with pain. While pain starts the process of change, forgiveness offers catharsis and closure to the process. Angels in America does maintain the aphorism forgive but not forget. Angels in America shows that personal progress cannot happen with just happy experiences, but does in fact require pain.