The Stone Angel Group

Question:

chikky-bebe3000
chikky-bebe3000
Student
College - Freshman

Does anyone know all or some of the main symbols in The Stone Angel, portraying the universe of meaning within which Hargar lives her life?

any symbols relating to hagar's life in the novel would be of great help, i'm having a brain fart on this one

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Posted by chikky-bebe3000 on Thursday May 17, 2007 at 2:48 PM and tagged with hagar, stone angel, symbols, the stone angel.

Answers:

  1. lcassidy
    lcassidy Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The Stone Angel contains rich symbolism, which enable its audience to gain insight about the main character, Hagar Shipley.

    The symbol of the bird – at one point Hagar injures a sea gull and it lies on the ground beating its wings helplessly. This is symbolic of Hagar’s own lack of freedom. Her reality is that of old age, which renders her unable to do the things she has always done for herself (a very frustrating experience).

    The stone angel itself represents Hagar herself. She is very much like a statue: cold, unfeeling, and hard. When Hagar’s son, John, dies (the child she favours), she metaphorically turns to stone and cannot weep for her loss. The fact that the statue does not have eyes also symbolises Hagar’s lack of insight into herself. She is blind when it comes to others and can only see the world through her own self-centered eyes.

    I hope that this helps.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/stone-angel

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    Posted by lcassidy on Wednesday June 6, 2007 at 12:51 PM