Discussion Topic
The significance of the title The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
Summary:
The significance of the title The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence lies in its symbolism. The stone angel is a cemetery monument that represents the protagonist Hagar's pride and emotional rigidity. It serves as a metaphor for Hagar's inability to express her feelings and connect with others, highlighting her struggles with pride and isolation throughout the novel.
What is the significance of the title The Stone Angel?
The title applies to many aspects of the novel, which covers the ninety years of the life of one woman, Hagar. An effective essay could focus on two or three interrelated aspects to which the title seems most closely connected.
On the literal level, the stone angel is the actual monument that marks Hagar's mother's grave. It can be viewed primarily as a sign of her father's love.
Because it is a cemetery marker, it also functions as a sign of death. At various points in her life, Hagar suffers numerous losses of loved ones. At the end, she herself dies. Which of the others' deaths affects her the most? How does her attitude toward death change as she feels it grow near?
The material of stone is also significant. What aspects of Hagar's life show her or other characters to be cold and unyielding? Was she trying to hide...
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her feelings toward them, especially those who died?
An essay could highlight two contrasting instances, such as her attitude toward her sons, as one of them died young. Another approach would emphasize the emotional growth (or lack of it) in the stony-hearted woman. The novel offers rich material to work with.
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence is full of symbolism. The very title itself is symbolic as it is Hagar herself who is the stone angel. Like the stone angel, she is emotionless, cold, and without feeling. Although in all fairness, the death of a child would be hard to deal with, and Hagar struggled with the death of her favorite child John. So it is not surprising after his death when she closes in on herself refusing even to allow herself the opportunity to cry. Like the stone angel too, she cannot see beyond her own limited perspective to recognize the needs and emotions of others.
Enotes has some referece links:
http://www.enotes.com/jax/index.php/enotes/gsearch?m=co&q=the+stone+angel
What is the significance of the title in The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence?
The significance of the title of The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence depends on the recollection by the protagonist Hagar of seeing a large marble angel in the churchyard in her hometown of Manawaka. The angel is important in many ways. First, it is an emblem of Hagar herself, who is proud and impassive; Laurence emphasizes the parallelism when she makes Hagar think:
“Is it a mausoleum, and I, the Egyptian, mummified with pillows and my own flesh, through some oversight embalmed alive? There must be some mistake.”
Next, an angel is a messenger. As the stone angel is located in a cemetery, the message it bears is about death; given Hagar's age and failing health, she is both recipient of the message and also, to readers of the novel, herself a messenger, telling us the readers something about the nature of old age and death.