Stone Angel Symbolism
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A symbol is a literary device used by the author to portray an idea to the reader. In Margaret Laurence's, The Stone Angel, the stone angel is a symbol used to heighten the reader's understanding of the characteristics of Hagar Shipley. First, the stone angel is used to show Hagar's pride in the Currie family name. She prizes the stone angel because it is expensive and imported from Italy to honour a mother Hagar never knew. Similarly, the stone angel is symbolic of Hagar's inability to show emotions; like the angel, Hagar is hard and cold. Lastly, the angel is symbolic of Hagar's blindness, just as the angel; Hagar is doubly blind. The symbolism of the stone angel is first apparent in Hagar's pride in the Currie family name.
The stone angel is symbolic of Hagar's vanity in her surname. Hagar values the angel because it is an emblem of the Currie family. The angel was purchased by Hagar's father to honour her mother, but it appears more to honour their name than anything else...