To keep from being mocked by others, both Hagars have to conform to the values of their time. Hagar, who has become an outcast for marrying Bram, has almost entirely excluded herself from anything remotely social to avoid being ridiculed by the townspeople, especially her father. "Both Hagars are also bound by pride, a pride which, more than anything else, influences the decisions both women make with the little freedom they have." (Biblical Archetypes / 29 May, 2002) Both Hagars end up leaving their homes because of their pride. When the Biblical Hagar has a son with Abram, her pride grows, and she ends up being rude to Sarah. After she is punished for being insolent, she flees to the desert because she is overflowing with feelings of pride and cannot endure further humiliation. Likewise, Hagar Shipley, irritated with Brams persecutions, leaves Manawaka to re-establish and restart her life in Ontario. Both women have wondered off into the wilderness. The Biblical Hagar runs off into the real wilderness where she finds her God and then is reassured that all will go well for her son in the future. On the other hand, Hagar Shipley wonders off into her "wilderness", her mind, which is bursting with pride. This is where she too finds her God. "Pride was my wilderness, and the daemon that let me there was fear. I was alone, never anything else, and never free, for I carried my chains within me, and they spread out from me and shackled all I touched." (Laurence 1964, 292). Both Hagars are treated the same way, and have almost the exact same reactions to this because of their pride.
The way each of the Hagars treats their sons along with how John and Marvin are compared to biblical characters also shows the similarities between the novel and the book of Genesis. Hagar's relationship with John is very similar to the Biblical Hagar's relationship with Ishmael. Both women love their sons and pray to God for them.
