Agnes of God

“I still want to believe in alternate reels.”

Dr. Livingstone watches the same film on repeat, hoping for a different ending. The alternate reels refer to the traditional means of projecting film, in which a movie would be broken up into reels of various lengths, with the final reel containing the ending. The search for an alternate reel therefore symbolizes Dr. Livingstone’s desire for an alternative ending not only to Camille’s story but to Agnes’s.

“You needn’t call me Mother, if you don’t wish.”

Mother Miriam’s offhand remark to Dr. Livingstone illustrates the complexity of the play’s portrayal of motherhood. Mother Miriam suggests that the irreligious doctor need not use such a religiously charged term, but she also recognizes that the “familiarity” the word implies makes many uncomfortable. This demonstrates that Mother Miriam is willing to put herself and her title aside in the name of helping Agnes while also showing empathy for others’ feelings, but it also foreshadows the fraught nature of the play’s mother-child relationships.

“DOCTOR: Who taught her [to sing]?

MOTHER: I don’t know.”

No one taught Agnes to sing, yet her singing conveys a sense of spiritual transcendence to those listening. Agnes’s singing, like her pregnancy, is a mystery tinged with religious meaning, adding to the ethereal sense of spirituality that surrounds her.