The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence is a heart-warming story of a ninety year old woman who is nearing death and who has very little to look back on with pride. Her life had been ruled by her concern of outward appearances and manners. Although she often felt love and happiness, she refused to show it fearing it may be viewed by others as a weakness. Hagar inherited this strong pride from her father, Jason Currie, along with other poor qualities. Throughout her life, Hagar is desperately trying to escape. First, she tries to escape from her family, mostly her father, but in so doing she also cuts herself off from her brother, Matt. She also ends up leaving her husband, Brampton. Secondly, Hagar tries to escape from her own poor qualities to which she is captive; attempting to fill the emptiness within her. Finally and futilely, she tries to escape death. All of these attempts fail dismally. Throughout the narration of the novel many images are put forth repetitiously to aid the development of Hagar's character and the main themes. The Stone Angel is a very effective story due largely to the biblical, water, and flower imagery. The biblical imagery is very strong and can be found numerous times throughout the novel. The name of the main character, Hagar, is also the name of a hand maid in a biblical story. Many parallels are made between Margaret Laurence's Hagar and the biblical Hagar. The Hagar in the bible was to conceive a son with the husband of her owner, Sarah, who, herself, was unable to conceive. Hagar did bear a son but Sarah became very jealous of Hagar and had her thrown out into the wilderness. Hagar's son was born and they both returned to the place where Sarah and her husband...
