The Stone Angel: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Stone Angel" is a profound exploration of aging, pride, and familial relationships, centered on the character of Hagar Shipley, a ninety-year-old woman grappling with her past and present. Hagar's journey is marked by her introspection and memories, as she recalls her Scottish heritage and turbulent relationships, particularly with her husband, Bram Shipley, and her two sons, Marvin and John. Marvin is portrayed as a dutiful son who struggles with Hagar's strong-willed nature, while his wife, Doris, attempts to care for Hagar despite her own limitations. Hagar’s favorite son, John, embodies the mix of rebellion and tragedy, ultimately meeting an untimely death that devastates Hagar. The narrative also introduces Murray Ferney Lees, a stranger who shares a moment of connection with Hagar, prompting her to confront her own losses. Throughout the story, themes of pride, the passage of time, and the complexities of love and loss are intricately woven, providing a nuanced look at Hagar’s character and her impact on those around her.
The Stone Angel: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Margaret Laurence
First published: 1964
Genre: Novel
Locale: Vancouver, British Columbia, and a town on the Canadian prairie
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: The mid-1870's to the early 1960's
Hagar Shipley, née Currie, the protagonist, a ninety-year-old woman. She has become too much of a burden to her son and his wife, and even a hazard—bored at the age of eighty, she took up smoking. Daily matters make her aware of her aging body. Her mind is prompted by objects or sounds, such as those in her room or at the doctor's office, to recall episodes of her life filled with her enormous pride and inwardness. As a girl, her shopkeeper father drills her about her Scottish heritage and sends her to an Ontario girls' finishing school. She then works in her father's Manawaka store until she disdains his plan to have her marry well. At the age of twenty-four, she arranges her own wedding without his consent, for she responds to Bram Shipley's dancing and is attracted to his passion. Only once does she nearly express her deep feelings to Bram, whose speech and manners embarrass her. When she can no longer rear her two sons with dignity, she saves money from selling eggs in town and takes the boys to Vancouver. There she keeps house for retired Mr. Oakley, returning only when Bram is dying. Another year, she visits John in Manawaka until his accidental death. With Mr. Oakley's bequest, she buys a house in Vancouver, which she later signs over when Marvin and his wife care for her. Rather than be put in Silverthreads nursing home, she runs away, but she becomes disoriented after alighting from the bus at Shadow Point. As she rests in the abandoned cannery near the beach, she drinks wine with vagrant Murray Lees. After hearing his story, she shares her similar loss of a son. Her collapse comes the next morning. Dying in the hospital, she emerges somewhat from her lifelong inwardness enough to help the girl in the next bed; later, she can even lie to Marvin that he has always been her favorite. Aware that her pride has interfered with her doing more than two independent acts in her life, she expires.
Marvin Shipley, Hagar's eldest son. In consideration of his wife's health, he drives Hagar out to Silverthreads to get her accustomed to the place. Her flashbacks reveal that he knew his parents always liked his younger brother more. He dutifully did farm chores for his father, enlisted in the war, returned to succeed as a salesman, and reliably cared for Hagar, not merely because she had signed over her house and property. Just after Hagar says that he was “a better son than John,” realist Marvin tells the nurse, “She's a holy terror.”
Doris Shipley, Marvin's wife, who, in her seventies, has difficulty caring for Hagar. She is well-meaning but nosy and talkative. She talks to her, keeps her favorite things near her, takes her to the doctor, and has the minister come.
Bram Shipley, Hagar's husband, a tall, big, and handsome widower with a black beard, fourteen years Hagar's senior. He deteriorated from a sensuous dancer, during courtship, to alcoholism. Although he gives Hagar a crystal and silver decanter as a wedding gift, he provides few amenities on the farm. Although coarse, he continues to evoke a primal response from Hagar, but he embarrasses her. Increasingly repulsive, he drinks heavily with the town half-breed and with his son John, until his liver gives out.
John Shipley, Hagar's younger and favorite son, who learned to lie about Vancouver school friends' social status to please her. He returns to Manawaka to be with his father. Upset by his father's death, John continues his heavy drinking and wildness. He then brings Arlene Telford home often and drinks less, until he becomes enraged that Hagar and Arlene's mother plot to send Arlene to Ontario. John and Arlene die in a dare: He drives his car across the trestle, but a special train comes and hits it.
Murray Ferney Lees, the stranger whom Hagar meets in the abandoned cannery. He willingly shares his bottle of wine and his life story. He had loved the Advocate tabernacle of his grandfather, who was ignored by his mother and father, owners of a shoe store in Blackfly. After marrying Lou, from Bible camp, he continued to sell insurance. He misplaced his faith, though he prayed with her. He blames his drinking and smoking in the basement for their house fire, in which son Donnie died. This prompts Hagar to express her own loss of a son, John, something she previously had been unable to do. After a drafty night and Hagar's collapse, Murray calls Marvin, whose number was in her purse.