Angels are universally seen as pure and holy beings who symbolize heaven and bring comfort to many. Among all the angels, Gabriel is one of the most well-known, appearing in the Bible and acting as a messenger from God. Gabriel, from the play Fences, shares the same name as this angel and truly believes that he is the angel Gabriel. Throughout the play, he references St. Peter, an angel that helps angel Gabriel guard the gate of heaven, and playing a trumpet which angel Gabriel is said to play when Judgement Day arrives. As a messenger, angel Gabriel sent messages from God to people on Earth, most famously for the Virgin Mary and her future son, Jesus. In one passage from the play, Gabriel tells Troy that he saw St. Peter’s book, “marking it up for judgement,” and on one page, Troy’s name was listed, but it was written differently than all the other names that he had seen (Wilson 26). Later in the play, we find that Troy got too friendly with the Alberta girl and ended up getting her pregnant. Gabriel, much like the angel Gabriel, could have been sending Troy a message and warning him about his future.
An all-powerful being like God does not appear to humans in person, rather, he sends someone else down to deliver important messages. Gabriel is frequently used as God’s messenger, first being mentioned in the Book of Daniel. He appears in front of Daniel after he sees a vision of a ram and two angels conversing about it. One of the angels turns to the other, calling him “Gabriel” and instructing him to tell Daniel “the meaning of what he saw” (1049). Gabriel then explains his vision about the ram and about a year later, returns to Daniel to answer his prayers. Gabriel begins by saying “he [God] answered you” and that “I have come to tell you the answer” (1051). In the New Testament, Gabriel appears before Zecheriah, a priest, telling him his wife, Elizabeth, “will bear [him] a son,” despite her old age (1506). This did indeed happen and Gabriel later came to Elizabeth’s younger cousin, Mary, telling her that she will soon bear God’s son. Gabriel once more reveals himself to one more person, Mary’s husband Joseph, to explain that Mary’s pregnancy is not something to be ashamed of, but celebrated.
Aside from being God’s messenger, Gabriel is also associated with childbirth and the gates of heaven. Gabriel is known for telling women that they will be having children, his most famous revelation being the birth of Jesus Christ. This happens in Luke 1:26-38, where Gabriel relays God’s message to Mary and reassures her to not “be afraid,” for “God has been gracious to her” (1506). As mentioned afore, Gabriel foretold Mary’s cousin’s birth of her son John the Baptist, but instead of appearing directly to Elizabeth, came to her husband. A slightly more recent encounter with Gabriel happened over 400 years ago to Dr. John Dee, a mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. In his diary, Dee wrote of “one occasion” when “Gabriel appeared and told [him] that his wife was pregnant, which was correct” (Webster 13). Another writer, John Milton, is familiar with Gabriel through his work Paradise Lost, designating him as the “Chief of the angelic guards” at the gates of heaven (Webster 11). Gabriel is accompanied by St. Peter and holds a trumpet which he will blow when Judgment Day arrives. In Fences, Gabriel totes a broken trumpet around and waits for “the time to tell St. Peter to open the gates” (Wilson 47).
Gabriel speaks of heaven quite often, mentioning St. Peter, getting a new trumpet, and chasing hellhounds. It is highly coincidental that he speaks about these things, which are related to the angel Gabriel, shares the same name with the saint, and believes, wholeheartedly, that he is the angel Gabriel. There is a possibility that Gabriel could have actually been an angel. In Joshua 5:13, Joshua looks up to see a man standing “over against him with his sword drawn in his hand” (252). The man turns out to be an angel, nameless, who comes to Joshua’s aid in reclaiming the city of Jericho. In Daniel 8:15, Daniel notices “someone,” a human being, standing in front of him. In his book, Gabriel: Communicating with the Archangel for Inspiration & Reconciliation, Richard Webster states that “angels could become men,” making it possible for Gabriel to descend to Earth and deliver messages (Webster 16). However, Gabriel from Fences, referred to as Gabe, is just a mortal man. Gabe is introduced as having “a metal plate in his head” as a result from an injury in World War II (Wilson 24). He sells discarded fruit and is frequently sent to the hospital. Angels are holy beings from heaven; getting sick isn’t something that should happen to them and they never appear on Earth for long. In the bible, Daniel receives a vision of angels who then appear before him. They talk for a while, but shortly after, the angels leave. Many months later, Gabriel appears before Daniel and sends him another message. Gabriel also delivers messages to many people, but Gabe has only spoken of one message to Troy.
Being the messenger and childbirth angel, Gabe could have been warning Troy about his future. Gabe tells Troy that he saw St. Peter’s book, but Troy doesn’t seem to take him seriously. Gabe will say many things, like chasing hellhounds and buying a new trumpet to play for Judgement Day. None of these occur, so his friends and family try to go along with what he says as best they can. However, if Troy paid more attention to Gabe, he might have caught the true meaning behind the message. St. Peter’s book had “Rose’s name,” but Gabe “ain’t [sic] seen it like yours [Troy’s]” name (Wilson 26). Rose truly is a kind and loving person. She watches out for her family and herself. When she first met Troy, she made sure that he understood that if he wasn’t going to take their relationship seriously, he could “move out of the way so the marrying kind can find” her (Wilson 6). During the play, Troy works on a fence that Rose wants put up around their house to keep her family close to her. Troy fails to see this and as the play progresses, drifts farther and farther away from his family and friends and perhaps that is why his name is not written like Rose’s.
One person that Troy seems to get closer to is the unnamed “Alberta gal” at the Taylors’ house (Wilson 3). He and Bono admire her in Act 1 and mention her throughout the play, but never in front of Rose. Bono points out that Troy is getting friendly with her and Troy defends himself by saying that he isn’t like that anymore after marrying Rose. Bono agrees, but later on in the play, Troy spends more time at the Taylors’ house and eventually, ends up getting the Alberta gal pregnant, despite having a devoted wife. The Alberta gal dies having giving birth to a girl and Troy convinces Rose to take care of his child. Gabe’s message could have warned Troy that his future actions would not let him past the gates to heaven and St. Peter. At the end of the play, Gabe attempts to play his trumpet because “it’s time,” but it produces no sound. At that moment Gabe, realizes that Troy is not going to enter heaven or that he is not actually the angel Gabriel.
Gabriel from Fences is an innocent man who shares many similarities with the angel Gabriel whom he believes he is. Everyone plays along with it, but some of the things he says actually have meaning, like when he said that Troy’s name was written differently from Rose’s in St. Peter’s book. This alluded to Troy’s infidelity later on in the play. Although Gabriel is not an actual angel, his presence adds more symbolism and meaning to the play.
Works Cited
The Bible. Today’s English Version, 2nd ed., American Bible Society, 1998, 1506-1507.
Webster, Richard. “Gabriel: Communicating with the Archangel for Inspiration &
Reconciliation.” Google Books, Llewellyn Publications,
books.google.com/books?id=jSKfFFr9vBUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=angel Gabriel
differentreligions&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKqcyPgr7aAhUJxFQKHTaCCS8Q64
EIJjAA#v=onepage&q=angel gabriel different religions&f=false, pp. 11-16.
Wilson, August. Fences, Plume, 1986, 3-47.