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  • Essay / The statue metaphor and its symbolism in The Stone Angel

    The statue of the stone angel symbolizes the pride of the Curie family, Hagar's inability to understand and share her emotions, as well as as the blindness and ignorance that arise from the constant refusal to see things from any point of view other than your own. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The stone angel symbolizes the pride of the Curie family as it does not seem to serve its purpose, which is to honor the mother of our Hagar who died giving birth to him. Hagar describes Madame Curie as a "gentle woman" and a "weak ghost", while she describes herself as "stubborn" and "practical". The statue was purchased in Italy and brought to the Manawaka cemetery "at a terrible cost...in the pride of marking his bones and proclaiming his [Mr Currie's] dynasty, as he imagined it, forever and ever day” (p. 3). . Mr Currie bought the angel “out of pride” rather than out of sorrow for someone he considered his possession, his “dynasty”. The stone angel is also a symbol of Hagar's pride since she inherited it from her father. It was this pride that stopped her from speaking up and fighting for her brother when Mr. Currie sent her to college to become "more civilized." She knew Matt deserved to go more than her, but she never stood up for him or herself. In a bid for freedom, or perhaps simply to spite her father, Hagar married Bram Shipley shortly after returning from school. From day one, Hagar's marriage to Bram was a real embarrassment for her and her family: "When I listened to Bram weaving his cobwebs, it mostly made my stomach turn, not what he said but the fact that he made himself a laughing stock” (p. 114). Upon learning of their plans to marry, Hagar's father disowns her. Bram was by no means a rich man, he drank a lot, always spoke in slang and regularly caused a scene. Hagar thought she would be able to change him and break him out of his wild ways, but when he proved her wrong, she simply accepted the fact that she would have to live with it or lie about it to save the face. When she applies for a job to get away from Mananawka and her husband, she lies to her boss about her true relationship with Bram. Hagar's pride prevents her from expressing her emotions or relating to others, and as a result, she proves to be just as harsh and inflexible as the Stone Angel himself. She never reveals her true feelings at the risk of being seen as "soft" and as a result she misses out on many potentially great relationships. At a very young age, his pride prevents him from comforting his dying brother: But all I thought about was this sweet woman I had never seen, the woman who they said Dan looked so much like him and who he had inherited from a frail one, I couldn't help but hate it, even if part of me wanted to sympathize. Playing at being her was beyond me. When Abram's horse died, she struggled to find something soothing to say or do because there was still a stone wall built between them. See Abram's hunched shoulders and his gaze. on his face, suddenly I approached him without stopping to ask myself whether or not I should, or what to say. . . Then, awkwardly, "I'm sorry about that, Bram. I know you loved him. Hagar comes to be proud of her restraint and aloofness. Margaret Laurence establishes this despite Hagar's refusal to admit to her husband that she likes to make love with him." him: Shortly after our marriage, I felt my blood and vital signs rising to meet his. He doesn't have it.