Previous
Hannah Pitt
A real-life Soviet spy who in the 1950s was convicted for treason, along with her husband, Julius Rosenberg, and sentenced to death by electrocution. Ethel Rosenberg is often considered a symbol for the barbarism of America’s involvement in the Cold War: Ethel was killed for her espionage (and even this was never definitively proven) despite the fact that she was a mother of two children. In the play, it’s revealed that her death was ensured by Roy Cohn. As a result, Ethel’s ghost—perhaps just one of Cohn’s hallucinations—haunts Cohn during his final days of life. (It should also be note that Kushner specifies that this character is to be played by the same actor who plays Hannah Pitt.)
Ethel Rosenberg Quotes in Angels in America
The Angels in America quotes below are all either spoken by Ethel Rosenberg or refer to Ethel Rosenberg. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Millennium Approaches: Act 3, Scene 5
Quotes
Yes. Yes. You have heard of Ethel Rosenberg. Yes. Maybe you even read about her in the history books. If it wasn't for me, Joe, Ethel Rosenberg would be alive today, writing some personal-advice column for Ms. magazine. She isn't. Because during the trial, Joe, I was on the phone every day, talking with the judge— Every day, doing what I do best, talking on the telephone, making sure that timid Yid nebbish on the bench did his duty to America, to history. That sweet unprepossessing woman, two kids, boo-hoo-hoo, reminded us all of our little Jewish mamas—she came this close to getting life; I pleaded till I wept to put her in the chair. Me. I did that. I would have fucking pulled the switch if they'd have let me. Why? Because I fucking hate traitors. Because I fucking hate communists. Was it legal? Fuck legal. Am I a nice man? Fuck nice. They say terrible things about me in the Nation. Fuck the Nation. You want to be Nice, or you want to be Effective? Make the law, or subject to it. Choose.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Angels in America LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ethel Rosenberg Quotes in Angels in America
The Angels in America quotes below are all either spoken by Ethel Rosenberg or refer to Ethel Rosenberg. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Millennium Approaches: Act 3, Scene 5
Quotes
Yes. Yes. You have heard of Ethel Rosenberg. Yes. Maybe you even read about her in the history books. If it wasn't for me, Joe, Ethel Rosenberg would be alive today, writing some personal-advice column for Ms. magazine. She isn't. Because during the trial, Joe, I was on the phone every day, talking with the judge— Every day, doing what I do best, talking on the telephone, making sure that timid Yid nebbish on the bench did his duty to America, to history. That sweet unprepossessing woman, two kids, boo-hoo-hoo, reminded us all of our little Jewish mamas—she came this close to getting life; I pleaded till I wept to put her in the chair. Me. I did that. I would have fucking pulled the switch if they'd have let me. Why? Because I fucking hate traitors. Because I fucking hate communists. Was it legal? Fuck legal. Am I a nice man? Fuck nice. They say terrible things about me in the Nation. Fuck the Nation. You want to be Nice, or you want to be Effective? Make the law, or subject to it. Choose.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
