Pride in The Stone Angel
by
Paige Veysey
Mr. Johnston
English 122
9 May 2007
“Pride… feeling of pleasure or satisfaction which one gets from doing sth well,
from owning sth excellent or widely admires, etc… unjustifiably high opinion of oneself
or one’s achievements; arrogance” (Oxford, 985). Many of the characters in the novel
The Stone Angel have large amounts of pride in themselves and their belongings.
Characters such as Hagar, John, Bram, Jason, and Lottie have pride in themselves, their
accomplishments and their families. Throughout the novel you see many instances where
pride is found; Hagar’s pride in her heritage, Bram’s pride in his horses, Jason’s pride in
his store and his daughter etc. Pride is one of the major themes in The Stone Angel and is
one worth discussion.
Each character has pride in something, whether it is a pin, a child, or an
accomplishment. Hagar is the main character of the novel and shows us the most pride.
At the beginning of the novel she tells us how proud she was of her heritage, how that
“the Highlanders must [have been] the most fortunate of all men on earth” (Laurence,
15), and “How bitterly [she] regretted that [Jason had] sired [them in Manawaka]”
(Laurence, 15). She was extremely proud of her history and she tried to force it upon her
favorite son, John.
John Shipley was also a very proud character, but in a different way. John was
proud of his ability to mock his mother and how much he was like Bram. He would mock
Hagar by referring to the Shipley place as “[her] castle” (Laurence, 171). He always
wanted Bram to approve of him, so John tried his best to be like him. He tried to look like
Bram and he was vulgar like him and would say things like “[he’d] lay [Arlene] if [he]
got the chance” (Laurence, 174). Bram on the other hand was proud of his
accomplishments, not his vulgarity.
Brampton Shipley is a man who is proud of his accomplishments. Bram loved
horses and was so happy to be raising them. He was especially proud of his stallion
Soldier and “He [would groom] it so carefully, you’d [think] it was a prize race horse”
(Laurence, 85). He was proud of being a horse breeder even though “he never [had a]
head for business” (Laurence, 85), which may have led to his economic decline.
Jason Currie, on the other hand, was a very successful man economically.”[Jason]
took such pride in [his] store – you’d have thought it was the only one on earth”
(Laurence, 9). However, his pride got the better of him on many occasions. Jason was
tremendously proud of his daughter and considered her his prize. Hagar, on the other
hand, despised Jason parading her around and went against him any way she could. Her
greatest revolt against him was when she married Bram.
Pride was not only Bram’s economic demise and Jason’s prize’s demise. It was
also Hagar’s ultimate demise. Hagar realizes in the very last weeks of her life that she has
made too many mistakes due to her pride. Hagar was never emotional because it would
ruin her image which she took so much pride in. By not being emotional, none of her
relationships ever deepened. The one time she showed emotion to Bram “[he] looked up
at [her] with such a look of surprise” (Laurence, 87), as she had never done that before.
She never tried to connect with anyone in her family except for John, who rejected her.
Hagar was also too proud to have gone to the Doctor earlier when it mattered and she
could have been saved. When she died, she died dignified and proud. She wouldn’t let
anyone help her with her water and perhaps died from the exertion.
Bram could also be seen to have died from his pride. He was too proud to admit
that he needed and loved Hagar and wanted her back. If he had asked her to stay or to
come back, he probably wouldn’t have become a raving alcoholic, thus ruining his liver,
killing him.
The pride these characters have connects them and separates them at the same
time. The discussion of pride in The Stone Angel could go on forever. There are so many
aspects to pride, it is difficult to discuss them all. However, the definition would be one
thing to change. The definition mentions nothing of the difficulties pride causes. The
characters of The Stone Angel found this out the hard way, by giving up or losing their
lives and loves.
Bibliography
“Pride.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Toronto: The Oxford University
Press, 1989.
Laurence, Margaret. The Stone Angel. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1989.
Symbolism of the glass decanter in The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
by
Nikita Rose
Mr. Johnston
English 122
11 May 2007
After Hagar and Bram were married, Bram brought her to her new home which
was the Shipley house. The house was square framed, with shoddy second hand furniture
and an unbearable scent. Once they entered, Hagar was handed a cut glass decanter with
a silver top. A gift from Bram which he thought Hagar would appreciate. However,
Hagar picks it up, looks at it and carries on like the gift was something ordinary and
everyday to her. This symbolizes Hagar and Bram’s relationship, their lack of
communication and Hagar’s lack of emotion. Bram tries to impress Hagar with the glass
decanter. He tries to let her know although they were from different families that held
different standards, he would try his best to make their relationship work. Bram thought a
nice decanter would make Hagar understand and appreciate his intentions. Instead she
rejects it unknowingly making Bram himself feel rejected. Bram then laughs, realizing
that nothing he will ever do will be good enough for her. After having his gift rejected,
Bram feels he must prove himself as a man. Therefore, Bram reverts to his manly and
vulgar ways. He feels he must dominate her, to teach her a lesson, so he uses their
physical relationship to do so. The glass decanter represents the start of the end of their
relationship. Everything they do for each other goes unnoticed by the other. Thereby
ruining their relationship, never allowing them to grow closer and become emotionally
attached to each other.
Symbolism of the Currie pin in The Stone Angel
by
Ryan Folkins
Mr. Johnston
English 122
11 May 2007
In the novel The Stone Angel written by Margaret Laurence the
Currie family is highly respected and important in the Manawaka society.
The Currie family owned the only store in the town and were quite wealthy.
The Currie family has a family pin which has been passed down from
generation to generation. This pin means a lot to the Currie name. The
Curries care a lot about their appearance and how others in the community
see them.
Jason Currie puts the biggest and most expensive monument up in the
cemetery as a monument for his wife but it is also a way that he can show
off his wealth in the community. Jason also sends Hagar away to school so
that she will be better educated and more lady like which makes the Currie
family look better. He also does not approve of Hagar marrying Bram
because he says that he is “common as dirt” (48), which would make the
Currie family look bad.
Hagar is given the Currie pin because she was her father’s favorite.
Hagar wants to continue to pass on the family pin so she gives it to her
favorite son John. The pin meant a lot to Hager because when she gives it to
John she says “You’re to look after this plaid-pin, do you hear?”(124). This
shows that Hagar is very proud of her family name and wants her children to
be the same way. She believes that John is a Currie and believes that he will
take care of the pin.
It turns out that the pin did not mean much to John after all. Later in
the novel we find out that he “traded it to another guy for a jackknife” (143).
Hagar cannot really be mad at John for trading the pin because she realizes
that the jackknife was more useful, then the pin to John.