The stone angel is the central image in the novel, and one that represents the main character as being "doubly blind" (3). Hagar allowed her pride in herself, her social position and her family to control her self-image, making her cold to the needs of the heart. As a child Hagar will not subject herself to anything below the standard that she set for herself. This is the sole reason for her refusal to pretend to be her dead mother in order save her brother Dan, "[t]o play at being her...was beyond me." (25). Hagar is unable to give the comforting love of which Dan was in desperate need. She is unable to reduce herself to acting as something she is not, to show compassion or tender emotion is impo

Hagar is unable to utter heart-felt emotion and suffers because of this sin. She loses her men, suffering physically and emotionally as a result. Both John and Bram escape Hagar's domineering and controlling attitude. Bram rejects Hagar's assessment of him as an unworthy husband and in doing so rejects her as his wife. He ceases to care for her and when she decides to leave him Bram has "nothing to say." (142). Hagar realizes her mistake of taking her husband for granted after watching children play on the beach. She recognizes the authoritative quality in the female, "I long to warn her-watch out...you'll lose him." (188). Hagar identifies qualities in the girl that she was unable to notice within herself throughout her life. She suffers as she realizes that, "[she] can never leave well enough alone." (189). Hagar's controlling nature leads her to suffer over the loss of her beloved son John. Her sin of taking his business matters into her hands cost her her favourite son. She internally suffers and typically is unable to show physical remorse. At John's funeral Hagar presents herself as rigid so as to deny others of the satisfaction of knowing her tender emotions. Hagar's admits that, "[she] couldn't cry in front of strangers, whatever it cost [her]." (242). Hagar portrays her personal pride and dignity. Her instinctive reaction is to substitute the genuine emotion that she feels into what she considers to be a socially acceptable behavior. She suffers because she takes her public image exceedingly serious, therefore starves her loved ones of affection, "the night [her] son died [she] was transformed to stone and never wept at all." (243). She admits her emotions are held close to her own heart. Like the stone angel, her soul is suffering because she is emotionally transformed. It is at Shadow Point that Hagar acts with contrite. She confuses Lees with John and speaks the words of reconciliation that she has previously been unable to utter. Hagar begins to cry over her loses which is an indication of the emotional awakening that will lead her to the redemption of her soul.

ssible for Hagar as a young person. She holds herself in high esteem and will not, in her opinion, belittle herself in front of others. Hagar is unable to clearly communicate her emotions. She has a tendency to suppress her feelings, similar to the stone angel that evidently has a "stone heart" (4). Hagar will not allow anyone to see her upset. After an argument in which her father has crushed Hagar's feelings she refuses to "let him see [her] cry."(9). Hagar appears to be made of stone; sharing her father's pride, she does not allow herself to express emotions that might be thought of as weak. Clearly as a young child she is disciplined with her emotions, careful of who is around to see her fragility. Hagar's proud strength renders her unable to express the emotions she does feel and incapable of dealing with strong emotions in others. When her father shows her tenderness, Hagar feels "caged and panicky," and wants to push him away (10). "We come to understand as well as the social forces-familial, patriarchal, and puritanical-which have led her to this distortion and that very pride which we deplore in its outer workings, as well as for Hagar's sake, is revealed to us as a means of survival." (Rooke 35-36) As Hagar ages, the wrongdoings of her character depict the outcomes of her

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2283
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)