Hagar And The Stone Angel example essay topic

In her novel The Stone Angel, Margaret Laurence uses the stone angel monument to embody the qualities of Hagar. Over the course of the novel, Hagar reflects back on the memories that have made up her life. Hagar's loneliness and depression are self induced and brought on by her pride, lack of emotion, stubbornness and the ignorance which she has towards anyone's opinion but her own. The qualities of Hagar are identical with those possessed by the stone angel monument and paralleled by Laurence many times throughout the novel.

The angel was certainly not a suitable statue to mark the death of Mrs. Currie as it was uncharacteristic of her. The statue of the angel is a more fitting representation of Hagar's father Jason Currie and hence suits Hagar because her personality was undoubtedly inherited from her father. The pride inherited from her father causes her much trouble throughout life as it seems to be the main root of her problems. Hagar's lack of emotion is also consistent with the characteristics of the stone angel. Her inability to show true emotion effects her a lot later in life and is the main reason she is unable to keep a relationship. Hagar's stubbornness can also be connected to the stone angel monument in the sense that the Angel never moves and is also very set in its ways.

The Stone Angel monument was created without eyes. Hagar is also blind in the sense that she is ignorant to the opinions and thoughts of others. The above qualities are shared by Hagar and the Stone angel, and are in essence the reason behind Hagar's never-ending escape from family and her problems. One of the most dominant emotions shown in The Stone Angel is pride. Pride is a sense of one's own proper dignity or value. Most of Hager's loneliness comes from her belief that she is socially above everyone else, regardless of what happens to her.

This pride is inherited from her father who is very proud of his social standing and openly flaunts it. The Stone angel monument is a symbol of pride itself as it was brought from Italy to show the wealth and power of Jason Currie but purposely to mark the grave of his dead wife. "She was not the only angel in the Mana waka cemetery, but she was the first, the largest, and certainly the costliest". (Laurence 3) There is also another form of pride most easily displayed in the fact that the only time Hagar cries throughout all her tragedies and lost loved ones is at the Doctor's office. "I prided myself upon keeping my pride intact, like some maidenhead" (Laurence, 81) Hagar speaks of self-pride being similar to possessing your virginity. It gives her that sense of decency and well being.

Just as Hagar believes she is above everyone else, she also believes The Stone Angel is above all of the other gravestones, describing them as a lesser breed and insufficient in marking the death of the deceased. "The others, as I recall were a lesser breed entirely, petty angels, cherubim with pouting stone mouths" (Laurence 4) Hagar's pride can be easily associated with her lack of emotion and unwillingness to let herself cry. Hagar's ability to hide her true emotion starts in early childhood and is something she uses frequently later in life. "I wouldn't let him see me cry, I was so enraged. He used a foot ruler, and when I jerked my smarting palms back, he made me hold them out again". (Laurence 9) Hagar's father straps her hands with a ruler but she knows she has to be strong and not let him see that it hurts her.

When Hagar's brother Dan is dying after falling through the ice she cannot find it in her "stone-cold" heart to wear her mother's old plaid shawl to act as if she was her mother. Hagar will not do this because she cannot perish the thought of pretending to be someone as feeble as her mother. When her son John dies she does not weep, almost as if she was made of stone. "The night my son died I was transformed to stone and never wept at all".

(Laurence 243) Hagar believed if she cried it would damage her pride and make her appear weak. She would simply not have people think that. "I wouldn't cry in front of strangers, whatever it cost me". (Laurence 242) Hagar makes love to Bram and never lets him know that she enjoyed it. "He never knew. I never let him know.

I never spoke aloud, and I made certain the trembling was all inner". (Laurence 81) She could never allow others to know how she felt. Hagar remained emotionless throughout her life. When Bram dies Hagar does not even dare to shed a tear. "But when we'd bury Bram and come home again and lighted lamps for the evening, it was John who cried, not I".

(Laurence 184) In many ways Hagar's passionless life was identical to that of the Angel; it never shed a tear, rarely did she. Her inability to express emotion led to her relentless ignorance of others and their opinions. Hagar Shipley is a very stubborn woman at the age of ninety. She is very set in her ways, and does not appreciate being told what to do. The most prominent sign of this stubbornness is when Hagar is brought to Silver threads nursing home to view this location. Upon this discovery Hagar attempts to run away, only to find herself lost in a forest.

The stubbornness is nothing new; she had been that way since early childhood. Throughout her life and to the end Hagar is too stubborn to ask for God's help. "Our Father - no I want no part of that. All I can think is Bless me or not, Lord, just as You please, for I'll not beg" (307) Hagar refuses to be helped and when she is she becomes very upset and embarrassed. Although Marvin and Doris are only there to assist her out she still does not see their good-natured intent to take care of her. "then how could they get in to tend me (tend - as though I were a crop, a cash crop) " (Laurence 6) Hagar's stubbornness leads her further away from her family and closer to loneliness...

Her attitude, like the angel, is made of marble and is seemingly unchanged even after years. The angel is set in its ways just like Hagar. She has not changed anymore than it. Hagar has also accustomed herself to a kind of blindness, not in the actual meaning of blindness but blind in a way that prevents her from accepting the views of others. Hagar is also similar to the stone angel as she sees everything as it appears and does not care to look deeper. The angel which marked the death of her mother was created without eyes which she found to be weird.

"Summer and winter she viewed the town with sightless eyes. She was doubly blind, not only stone but un endowed with even a pretense of sight. Whoever carved her had left the eyeballs blank" (Laurence 3) Hagar's blind views of people and their feelings are shown when she and Lottie create a plan to send Arlene away and separate her from John. Her ignorance is also evident in her favoritism of John.

Her whole life Marvin had always been the better son. He was constantly the son who was there for her, however Hagar could not seem to let go of this attachment she felt to John. It is not until the end of the novel when she realizes this and has a change of heart towards him. Hagar's most defining character traits were represented through the stone Angel monument as it stood proud, emotionless, stubborn and ignorant in the graveyard. The monument was a form of foreshadowing for what turned out to be the principles of Hagar's life. All the tragedies which occurred during her life were related to one of her defining traits.

The stone angel monument becomes much more than just a gravestone, it becomes a symbol of Hagar; a symbol of her unfulfilled life; her constant attempt to escape from her family and her problems.