Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel - Book Report/Review Example

Hagar's sense of false pride and dignity serve to bring her downfall and thus shall be explored in more detail. (Thesis statement) Hagar is a tragic heroine in the sense she has many flaws, exemplified by her strong will and pride brought on by her father Jason Currie, whose love and acceptance she constantly tried, to earn without success. Hagar has very low self esteem. This is evident when she states, "So much for sad Regina, now forgotten, in Manawaka-as I, Hagar, am doubtless forgotten" (4).

We can pity someone who is trying to receive acceptance to no avail however, by the same token, Hagar makes trouble for herself with her stubbornness and judgmental attitude. She is constantly judging the appearance of members of her family such as her daughter- in- law Doris, and childhood friend Lottie. This hurtful attitude might lead the reader to believe Hagar has received the treatment she deserves. Hagar's reference as a "holy terror" (305) is related paradoxically when she declares, "Listening I feel it is more than I could now reasonably have expected out of life, for he has spoken with such anger and such tenderness" (305).

This unsolicited appraisal demonstrates how the two aspects of Hagar's personality affect her peers. She has a fierce pride for her ancestry however; by the same token, she constantly belittles and derides people she knows.Is there a misstep that leads Hagar to ruin Pride works as a double-edged sword for Hagar. Her sense of pride in her family heritage is symbolized by the plaid-pin passed down to her and then later squandered away by her son John in trade for a jackknife. Pride helps her get though many difficult times, such as her loveless marriage to Brampton Shipley, and the frustration she finds later in life with her son Marvin's.

Hagar does not misstep rather she's drawn by a fate beyond her control. Even at age ninety, and suffering physically, she has the strength and conviction to set her own destiny. We discover this when she decides to run away to avoid being put in a nursing home. Although mentally she feels she is the Hagar of old making decisions and setting her own course, she is shocked with the realization she has changed drastically in physical appearance. This is shown when she comes upon the children playing in the woods.

Hagar offer of food surprises her when they run away. Hagar does not realize until after the fact how horrifying her appearance must have looked to the children. Is Hagar, in Arthur Miller's terms, "ready to lay down life ", if need be, to secure one thing, sense of pride and dignity" (Does Hagar have that much pride that she would lay down her life for it) Hagar's pride does not come from a sense of heroics. She runs away in fear when she discovers Marvin and Doris want to put her in a nursing home.

Is her flight from a sense of pride, or is it hubris derived from a lifetime of self-reliance Does a sympathetic reader believe Hagar