The Stone Angel
In The Stone Angel, Hagar Shipley, age ninety, tells the story of her life and in doing so comes to terms with the fact that the very pride that sustained her during a stormy marriage but which lost her a favourite son, deprived her of joy. Hagar was a truly dreadful character with no admirable or likeable qualities. She marries a man just to spite her father, hates the son that takes care of her, and blames the son who is most like her husband of not being like him at all. The author, Margaret Laurence, introduced Hagar's husband, Brampton Shipley, in a very negative light. When they met Hagar "was taken with him but didn't want to be." She thought he was untended, rugged and abrupt, but there was something about him. When Lottie and her father said that "he (Bram) is as common as dirt," Hagar decided that she wanted him. She worked against her father, and lost any sort of relationship with him. She did exactly what she wanted to do, even if she didn't think it was right either. Marrying the man she might love, all for the sake of her ego. Hagar's marriage to Bram was a failure. No loving words were ever shared between the two. On her wedding night, Bram gives Hagar a vase and says, "This here's for you, Hagar," (pg
.51) but Hagar is too focussed on Bram's grammatical error that she just sets the vase aside and "..thought no more about it." Soon after, Hagar grows to despise her new life with Bram. One of the most convincing conflicts that presents pride as the theme concerning their marriage is when Hagar begins selling eggs to have some extra money. Hagar is confronted by Lottie who has married well and is now in a better position than Hagar, since Bram squanders their money on liquor. Hagar is ashamed of her status and is angry with Bram for embarrassing them; her pride is hurt. "I've taken matters into my own hands before, and I'll do it again!" Hagar leaves. She has just ruined another relationship because she couldn't accept the faults of others or even see the faults in herself. In her middle age, Hagar displayed her pride many times. Another excellent example of Hagar's destructive pride is with her two sons. When John, her second son, falls in love with Lottie's daughter, Arlene. Hagar, of course, can't let John love someone whom she thinks is not good enough for him and is of lower class than they, she begins scheming to break them apart. When Hagar does accomplish what she set out to do she looses the love, and essentially the life of her favourite son. She does
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 865
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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