Summary

Act II is one continuous scene, with no divisions. It takes place in Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly’s consulting room. The audience realizes that this is the unidentified guest from the earlier scenes. He calls in his nurse-secretary and reviews his instructions that he has three appointments this morning and that it is imperative that none of the patients meet each other. She tells him that Alex is there and he tells her to show him in.

Alex enters and in his conversation with Reilly, it is clear that the two of them have been manipulating Edward into the appointment for some reason yet to be revealed. Alex says that Edward has been enjoying his mental illness and that he believes that when the doctor sends him to a sanatorium, it will punish his wife. In the meantime, he has been staying at his club. The nurse...