The Importance of the Title of Stone Angel :: Stone Angel Essays

The Importance of the Title of Stone Angel Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel is the story of Hagar Shipley's life, told entirely by Hagar through her memories and thoughts. Though she remembers her past with vivid detail, she has trouble with the happenings of the present. Hagar at ninety is a proud and strong woman suffering from the unjustness of old age. Once proud and independent, she now needs to be taken care of by her son Marvin, who she never loved. As the book begins, the readerÕs first glimpse is of that of the stone angel. "She was not the only angel in the Manawaka cemetery, but she was the first, the largest, and certainly the costliest." A unsuitable memorial of her mother for she was thought of as a "feeble ghost." It seems rather to represent Mr. Currie and Hager, both strong and full of pride. It was there for his needs, to "proclaim his dynasty." As the story progresses, the reader becomes more aware as why the book is titled The Stone Angel. Through important events in her life: the death of Dan, her marriage, her two sons, and Mr. TroyÕs singing; Hagar shows her inability to show tenderness and love and how her stone heart melts always and she is finally able to speak the words which both she and Marvin need to hear. The Stone Angel serves as a double meaning: The large marble stone angel in the cemetery and Hagar. Like the stone angel, Hagar displays no emotion. Even when her brother Dan is dying, her proud strengths leads her to be unable to comfort Dan. "But all I could think of was the meek woman IÕd never seen, the woman Dan was said to resemble so much and from whom he inherited a frailty I could not help but detest, however part of me wanted to sympathize. To play at being her Ð it was beyond me." When her favorite son John dies, she sheds not one tear; although she loves him very much. Her inability to communicate her emotions to others leads her to appear as a cold and grumpy woman. Her pride and strength causes her to do what she needs to do, but also she is blinded like the stone angel because she is unable to do what others need from her.