The literary purpose of the beginning part of Stone Angel is to provide expository information on the main characters, the setting, and the situation through the use of symbolism. The author has, without actually describing the main character, know her background family life, her childhood home, her thoughts, and parts of her personality. It is set up in such a way to allow the reader interest into the rest of the story, as well, as guess at what is to come. The symbols of the stone angel, the cemetery it is in, and the flowers found within allow us to glimpse into the main characters head before she is formally heard or discussed.
The first thing that we are able to learn about is the main characters mother and father. We learn that her mother died giving birth to her, as she "relinquished her feeble ghost as I gained my stubborn one." We learn that her father bought the memorial of the stone angel not out of love or remembrance to this woman, but rather to "proclaim his dynasty" forever, to be forever telling the town that he was wealthy enough to provide such a burial for his wife, that he was good enough. The stone angel stood not as a tribute, but rather as a means for self-advancement in the eyes of the town. The angel itself serves as a symbol perhaps of the woman she was bought to remember, the main characters mother. She has "sightless eyes," and was "doubly blind, not only stone but unendowed without even a pretense of sight." This appears to be a symbol tribute to the mother, someone who was never truly able to see the world around her, never able to view with unbiased eyes, her own husband. The angel was "brought from Italy at a terrible expense and was pure white marble . . . She must have been carved in the distant sun by stone masons . . . gouging her like out by the score . . . gauging with admirable accuracy . . . of fledgling pharaohs in an uncouth land." This shows us perhaps what the father actually thought of the woman who was her wife, and seems to be a symbol of such.
"The Stone Angel," by Margaret Laurence, is a novel written through the eyes of Hagar, the ninety year old protagonist who battles with a constant fear of being forgotten in her remaining years of life. ... Steven and Tina play a subtle, but powerful role in "The Stone Angel," as their relationship with Hagar are critical to her revelations during her last years of life. ...
The Way The Plot Develops The Meaning Of The Title In The Stone Angel In The Stone Angel, Margaret Lawrence portrays a woman attempting to understanding herself and her life. ... These characteristics and those of the stone angel, which was made of stone, was erected out of pride, and has no eyes, are strikingly similar. ... At this point Hagar realizes that her heart is made of stone, and that she has been hard and has never opened up to anyone, like the stone angel. ... Hagars blindness is comparable to the stone angel because the stone angel never had any eyes ...
Can we become angels? ... What is the origin of angels? ... Can we become angels? ... Angels rolled away the stone from the front of the tomb. ... This angel" final words here close the door on angel worship he says, "Worship God." ...
The Stone Angel As I began reading The Stone Angel I didn't think I would be able to enjoy the novel just because it is not really the type of book I would read. ... And I think the whole purpose of the stone angel in the graveyard is the one thing that never really changed through out Hagar's life it just remained constant, looking over things....
Margaret Laurence's, The Stone Angel is a powerful journey of the life of a 90-year-old woman . ... Angel is a compelling journey seen through the eyes of a woman nearing the end of her life. ... The Stone Angel is an excellent example of the realism and compassion present in all of Margaret Laurence's writing. ...
Hagar Shipley is the metaphorical stone angel of the novel. ... (The Stone Angel, 57) She fears that Marvin and Doris merely want her house and things in the house. ... (The Stone Angel, 242) At this point she became an emotionless, inanimate object. ... (The Stone Angel, 87) Hagar comes to pride herself on her self-restraint and emotionless ness. ... As a result she turns out to be just as hard and unyielding as the stone angel itself. ...
Biblical Archetypes in The Stone Angel In many great novels, the author alludes to religious annotations or other fictional and non-fictional works to increase the overall dramatic effect. ... In The Stone Angel, Margaret Laurence's characters refer time again to religious proverbs and Biblical stories. ... Margaret Laurence takes an article out of the Bible about an Egyptian bondwoman named Hagar, and uses her as the archetype for Hagar Shipley in The Stone Angel. ... Taking a look at The Stone Angel, we can see how Margaret Laurence plays skilfully with her symbolism. ... The p...
In The Stone Angel, Margaret Lawrence portrays a woman attempting to understanding herself and her life. ... These characteristics and those of the stone angel, which was made of stone, was erected out of pride, and has no eyes, are strikingly similar. ... At this point Hagar realizes that her heart is made of stone, and that she has been hard and has never opened up to anyone, like the stone angel. ... Hagar's blindness is comparable to the stone angel because the stone angel never had any eyes carved into it. ... These characteristics revealed through out the story describ...
