In Margaret Laurence’s novel, The Stone Angel, the stone angel serves as a powerful symbol and performs several functions throughout the narrative. The statue, which stands as a prominent feature in the graveyard of the fictional town of Manawaka, acts as a reflection of the novel’s central themes, particularly those of pride, memory, mortality, and emotional repression. It also represents the struggle for identity and spiritual redemption. Through the stone angel, Laurence explores the complexities of human existence and the impact of past choices on the present.
Let’s explore the various functions the stone angel serves in the novel:
1. Symbol of Pride and Repression
The stone angel is introduced as a symbol of Hagar Shipley’s pride and emotional repression. Hagar, the novel’s protagonist, is a woman of staunch independence and unbending self-will, traits which are mirrored by the cold, unyielding stone angel. The statue’s stone-like nature symbolizes Hagar’s own emotional detachment and inability to express her feelings throughout much of her life.
- Pride: The stone angel, standing tall and unbending, can be seen as an extension of Hagar’s pride. She views it as an ideal, a representation of strength and dignity, much like her own self-image. The angel’s stern, unmoving features align with Hagar’s belief in maintaining control over her emotions and her refusal to show vulnerability.
- Emotional Repression: The stone angel’s lack of warmth and inhuman stillness mirrors Hagar’s emotional landscape. Throughout her life, Hagar represses her feelings, especially those tied to loss, grief, and love. The stone angel serves as a constant reminder of her struggle to maintain stoicism and self-control, even in the face of profound emotional challenges.
2. A Reflection of Hagar’s Struggle with Mortality
As Hagar ages and faces the realities of her mortality, the stone angel becomes a symbol of the inevitability of death and the transience of life.
- Confrontation with Death: In her later years, Hagar grapples with the fact that she is dying and must confront the limitations of her own life. The stone angel, which overlooks the graves of the dead, becomes a constant reminder of the inevitability of death and the impending loss that Hagar must face.
- Symbol of Loss: The angel is also symbolic of Hagar’s losses—her husband Bram, her son John, and the death of her youthful ideals. As she reflects on her life, the stone angel seems to represent all that has been lost and is beyond her control. Her refusal to soften or mourn openly is mirrored by the stone nature of the angel, which stands as a metaphor for the emotionless passage of time and untouched memories.
3. A Symbol of Guilt and Regret
The stone angel is a symbol of Hagar’s guilt over the mistakes she made in her life, particularly her treatment of her son, John Shipley. Hagar’s failure to nurture relationships, her coldness towards her son, and her decision to prioritize pride over emotional warmth and forgiveness have led to deep regret.
- Alienation from Her Son: Hagar’s relationship with her son John is deeply affected by her pride and detachment. The stone angel can be seen as a reflection of the distance between Hagar and John. In her old age, Hagar feels deep remorse for not having expressed love or understanding towards her son when he needed her most. The stone angel stands as a silent judge, embodying Hagar’s sense of guilt and her recognition of the emotional walls she built around herself, which led to the estrangement between them.
- Unforgiving Nature: The unmoving nature of the stone angel underscores the rigidity in Hagar’s character, her inability to forgive herself or others. The angel’s permanent, unyielding stance serves as a visual reminder of Hagar’s inability to soften, both in terms of her relationships and her internal struggles.
4. A Catalyst for Hagar’s Emotional Awakening
Despite its earlier representations as a symbol of repression and pride, the stone angel also plays a pivotal role in Hagar’s emotional awakening as she nears the end of her life.
- Moment of Realization: Near the end of the novel, after Hagar has suffered emotional and physical breakdowns, she has a moment of clarity as she revisits the graveyard where the stone angel stands. Her encounter with the statue prompts her to reflect on her failures and the opportunities for emotional connection that she lost due to her pride and emotional rigidity. The stone angel, though silent, becomes a vehicle for Hagar’s recognition of her own fragility and her need to embrace human vulnerability before it’s too late.
- Final Reconciliation: In the final scenes, when Hagar is dying, the stone angel is also a part of her realization that it is not too late to face her emotions and confront the life she lived. Her awakening—a shift from pride to vulnerability—becomes possible through a confrontation with the stone angel, as she finally acknowledges that, like the angel, she too has been frozen in time, unable to embrace the warmth of human relationships.
5. A Symbol of Spirituality and Redemption
The stone angel also represents Hagar’s potential for spiritual redemption and spiritual awakening. While the angel initially symbolizes her pride, repression, and emotional coldness, it also hints at the possibility of a transformative spiritual journey for Hagar.
- Rebirth: The angel, despite its coldness and inaccessibility, can be interpreted as a symbol of hope. For Hagar, the stone angel’s steadfastness in the face of time and decay represents the possibility of a spiritual rebirth—a new way of understanding herself and her relationships. By confronting the stone angel, Hagar ultimately undergoes a process of personal and spiritual growth, moving away from the rigid pride that has defined her life toward an acceptance of her own flaws and the possibility of forgiveness.
- Symbol of God or Faith: In some interpretations, the stone angel can be seen as a representation of divine oversight or faith, standing as a silent witness to Hagar’s life. Although she struggles with religion throughout her life, Hagar’s encounter with the stone angel suggests that her ultimate spiritual redemption may come from accepting her own vulnerability and reconciling with her past.
6. A Cultural and Familial Symbol
Finally, the stone angel serves as a cultural and familial symbol for Hagar and her family. The presence of the statue in the graveyard ties Hagar to her family’s past and to the history of the place. The stone angel, while a symbol of personal pride, also represents the legacy of Hagar’s ancestors and the generational conflict between tradition and change.
- Family Legacy: As Hagar reflects on her life, she comes to realize that the stone angel represents more than her own emotional journey—it reflects the larger family history and societal expectations that shaped her upbringing. The angel’s enduring presence in the graveyard evokes the idea of family continuity and the burden of ancestral expectations.
Conclusion: The Stone Angel as Multifaceted Symbol
The stone angel in Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel serves multiple symbolic functions, from representing pride and emotional repression to serving as a catalyst for self-reflection and spiritual awakening. It reflects the inner conflict of the protagonist, Hagar Shipley, as she confronts her past, her relationships, and her impending death. The angel embodies themes of mortality, guilt, isolation, and redemption, ultimately acting as a mirror to Hagar’s emotional and spiritual journey. Through the stone angel, Laurence offers a profound exploration of the human struggle for identity, forgiveness, and meaning.