Hagar's pride and stubborness are consistently influential throughout her life. As she states near the end of the novel, "Pride was my wilderness, and the demon that led me there was fear." Often these characteristics cause her anguish; her excessive pride prevented her from opening up to Bram, her husband; "I prided myself upon keeping my pride intact, like some maidenhead." Her stubborness is expressed in situations such as her repeated

Strength and independence are also consistent throughout Hagar's life. They are thought to be valuable characteristics by her. She remembers with affection her father telling her, "You take after me...You've got backbone, I'll give you that." She models herself after her father and their Scottish ancestors, as she finds herself repeating her father's advice to her son, John; "Not everyone can start with money. Many a man's pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, as your grandfather Currie did. And you will, too." Both leaving Bram and much later trying to escape her son and daughter-in-law's desire to put her in a nursing home by going to Shadow Point, are examples of her craving for independence. This remains with her to the very end of her life, as she reaches for the water from the nurse the moment before her death, determined to do it for herself

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Approximate Word count = 579
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)