Act 2, Scene 2 Summary

It is now 1908. The scene is still the bedroom and it is 4:00 a.m. when Michael storms into the room where Agnes is asleep in the fourposter. He wakes her and shakes a bottle of bourbon in her face, outraged that he has found such a thing in his 17 year-old son's drawer. In addition, to make matters worse, the boy has still not come home from a party. He accuses Agnes of being too lenient with the boy and she accuses Michael of favoring their daughter.

She is mildly offended when he challenges her child rearing skills and she does not waste time telling him that his involvement is an occasional fit of fatherly hysteria like this one. They both calm down and agree that they are concerned that the boy is not yet home; maybe they could each use a...