The Character of Hager Shipley in The Stone Angel.
In Margaret Laurence's novel, The Stone Angel, Hagar Shipley is the main character. Born the daughter of Jason Currie, she is one who possesses incredible depth in character. Mingling past and present, we observe the very qualities, which sustained her and deprived her of joy such as her lack of emotional expression. As well, inheriting her father's harsh qualities, she exhibited pride that detested weakness in any form. Despite of her negative attributes she also displayed a positive mannerism through courage. Thus, Hagar is a cold, but strong willed woman. Such qualities give us a portrait of a remarkable character. Hagar's most noticeable characteristic was her lack of feeling and emotion. Indeed there where many situations where she could not physically express what she felt in her heart. She did not cry at the death of her son John. That night she was "transformed to stone and never wept at all (Laurence 243)-. During Marvin's childhood, she would impatiently dismiss him due to his slowness of speech. Once when an ecstatic Marvin told Hagar that he finished his chores, Hagar bluntly sends him away saying, "I can see you've finished. I've got eyes. Get along now ΒΌ (Laurence 112)-. Even as a child she was lacked emotion when she could not provide comfort to her dying brother, Daniel. Daniel needed the comfort of his mother, but for Hagar, "to play at being her - it was beyond me (Laurence 25)."" Indeed, Hagar's deficiency in feeling or expressing emotion was a visible characteristic throughout the novel.
As a result of her upbringing, Hagar possesses pride that despises weakness in any form. As a young girl she displayed this trait when her dad slapped her hand, "I wouldn't let him see me cry, I was so enraged (Laurence 9)."" As previously mentioned before, Hagar could not portray her mother to comfort her dying brother.
"The Stone Angel," by Margaret Laurence, is a novel written through the eyes of Hagar, the ninety year old protagonist who battles with a constant fear of being forgotten in her remaining years of life. ... Steven and Tina play a subtle, but powerful role in "The Stone Angel," as their relationship with Hagar are critical to her revelations during her last years of life. ...
The Way The Plot Develops The Meaning Of The Title In The Stone Angel In The Stone Angel, Margaret Lawrence portrays a woman attempting to understanding herself and her life. ... These characteristics and those of the stone angel, which was made of stone, was erected out of pride, and has no eyes, are strikingly similar. ... At this point Hagar realizes that her heart is made of stone, and that she has been hard and has never opened up to anyone, like the stone angel. ... Hagars blindness is comparable to the stone angel because the stone angel never had any eyes ...
The literary purpose of the beginning part of Stone Angel is to provide expository information on the main characters, the setting, and the situation through the use of symbolism. ... The symbols of the stone angel, the cemetery it is in, and the flowers found within allow us to glimpse into the main characters head before she is formally heard or discussed. ... The stone angel stood not as a tribute, but rather as a means for self-advancement in the eyes of the town. ... Just as those who cared not at all about her carved the stone angel in a distant place, so does this woman seem to h...
Can we become angels? ... What is the origin of angels? ... Can we become angels? ... Angels rolled away the stone from the front of the tomb. ... This angel" final words here close the door on angel worship he says, "Worship God." ...
The Stone Angel As I began reading The Stone Angel I didn't think I would be able to enjoy the novel just because it is not really the type of book I would read. ... And I think the whole purpose of the stone angel in the graveyard is the one thing that never really changed through out Hagar's life it just remained constant, looking over things....
Margaret Laurence's, The Stone Angel is a powerful journey of the life of a 90-year-old woman . ... Angel is a compelling journey seen through the eyes of a woman nearing the end of her life. ... The Stone Angel is an excellent example of the realism and compassion present in all of Margaret Laurence's writing. ...
Hagar Shipley is the metaphorical stone angel of the novel. ... (The Stone Angel, 57) She fears that Marvin and Doris merely want her house and things in the house. ... (The Stone Angel, 242) At this point she became an emotionless, inanimate object. ... (The Stone Angel, 87) Hagar comes to pride herself on her self-restraint and emotionless ness. ... As a result she turns out to be just as hard and unyielding as the stone angel itself. ...
Biblical Archetypes in The Stone Angel In many great novels, the author alludes to religious annotations or other fictional and non-fictional works to increase the overall dramatic effect. ... In The Stone Angel, Margaret Laurence's characters refer time again to religious proverbs and Biblical stories. ... Margaret Laurence takes an article out of the Bible about an Egyptian bondwoman named Hagar, and uses her as the archetype for Hagar Shipley in The Stone Angel. ... Taking a look at The Stone Angel, we can see how Margaret Laurence plays skilfully with her symbolism. ... The p...
In The Stone Angel, Margaret Lawrence portrays a woman attempting to understanding herself and her life. ... These characteristics and those of the stone angel, which was made of stone, was erected out of pride, and has no eyes, are strikingly similar. ... At this point Hagar realizes that her heart is made of stone, and that she has been hard and has never opened up to anyone, like the stone angel. ... Hagar's blindness is comparable to the stone angel because the stone angel never had any eyes carved into it. ... These characteristics revealed through out the story describ...
