Discussion for The Stone Angel

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Start discussion here for The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence.

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

About the Book (from the publisher)

Vivid, evocative, moving, The Stone Angel celebrates the triumph of the spirit, and reveals Margaret Laurence at the height of her powers as a writer of extraordinary craft and profound insight into the workings of the human heart.

Margaret Laurence's most celebrated novel introduced readers to one of the most memorable characters in Canadian fiction. Hagar Shipley is stubborn, querulous, self-reliant, and, at ninety, with her life nearly behind her, she makes a bold last step towards freedom and independence.

As her story unfolds, we are drawn into her past. We meet Hagar as a young girl growing up in a black prairie town; as the wife of a virile but unsuccessful farmer with whom her marriage was stormy; as a mother who dominates her younger son; and, finally, as an old woman isolated by an uncompromising pride and by the stern virtues she has inherited from her pioneer ancestors.


About the Author

Margaret Laurence, (born July 18, 1926—died Jan. 5, 1987), was a Canadian writer whose novels portray strong women striving for self-realization while immersed in the daily struggle to make a living in a male-dominated world.

Her first publications reflect her life with her engineer husband (later divorced) in Somaliland (1950–52) and Ghana (1952–57). Her first novel, This Side Jordan (1960), dealt with how old colonials and native Africans suffered through the exchange of power as Ghana became a nation. The Prophet’s Camel Bell (1963; also published as New Wind in a Dry Land) is an account of her life in Africa. The Tomorrow-Tamer (1963) is a collection of African stories.

Laurence’s next three novels were set in Canada and were woman-centered. In The Stone Angel (1964), an ancient prairie woman tells her life struggles. A Jest of God (1966; made into the motion picture Rachel, Rachel in 1968) and The Fire Dwellers (1969) are about two sisters, a Manitoba schoolteacher and a Vancouver housewife, each trying to achieve personal fulfillment. After her fifth and sixth novels, The Diviners (1974) and Heart of a Stranger (1977), Laurence turned to writing children’s stories.

[Carol]

I finished Stone Angel a couple of weeks ago and thought it was excellent. I was surprised at how current Laurence’s prose seemed. It was a far faster read than I’d anticipated. I liked Hagar at the beginning, but my view became more conflicted as we got to the middle and approached the end. (Not that “liking” is the purpose of reading a great book)

I’m looking forward to reading others’ reactions and comments.

This one might require spoiler warnings for at least the first ten days or so, depending on everyone’s preferences.

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Carol wrote: "I finished Stone Angel a couple of weeks ago and thought it was excellent. I was surprised at how current Laurence’s prose seemed. It was a far faster read than I’d anticipated. I liked Hagar at th..."

I am glad you enjoyed it. It was definitely a faster read than I anticipated, too.

[[deleted user]]

Ugh! Hated it. I read this novel years ago and would never read it again. I will give the author credit for being able to get into the mindset of an old woman, as she was only in her 30s when she wrote the book. We were supposed to read it as part of a course I was taking on Canadian fiction. I think the instructor had us read something else instead, but later I read it on my own. This is one of the books I disliked so much I would give it a 1-star rating.

[Carol]

Patricia wrote: "Ugh! Hated it. I read this novel years ago and would never read it again. I will give the author credit for being able to get into the mindset of an old woman, as she was only in her 30s when she w..."

Why, Patricia?

I am baffled that this is required high school reading in Canada, btw. I would love to have a peak at the discussion questions to see how they get 17 year olds to relate to it.

[Rosemarie]

My daughter had to read it in high school, in Toronto, and I too was baffled why they choose that particular Margaret Laurence book, when A Bird in the House was all about a teenage girl. She didn't get a lot out of it.

[[deleted user]]

Carol wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Ugh! Hated it. I read this novel years ago and would never read it again. I will give the author credit for being able to get into the mindset of an old woman, as she was only in h..."

I suppose I just did not like the main character. I was a grown woman when I read the book, not a teenager. It might be interesting to see how I would relate to the novel now, but I won't give it another chance.

I'm not from Canada. I took a continuing ed course on Canadian literature. The instructor mentioned this novel as one of the selections she wanted us to read, yet we never got around to reading it for one reason or another. Since she thought so highly of it, I decided to read it on my own, but I regretted it.

[Rosemarie]

I have read almost all of Margaret Laurence's works, and Hagar is the most unlikeable of all her main characters, as I see it.

[Carol]

Really interesting. Thanks, Patricia.

I found Lawrence’s writing to be compelling, and was particularly impressed with how effortlessly she kep the reader engaged notwithstanding the many shifts in time.

I found Hagar to be fascinating. My biggest problem, and this has come up in several novels I’ve read lately which were written by women mid-century, is that her views, values and personality don’t appear to change and develop at all throughout the novel. She’s just as judgy and self-involved in her teens as she is when her kids are 30 years old, as she is in the nursing home at the end. She’s not even more bitter or more dug in; she’s simply unchanged. From my perspective that’s a flaw in Lawrence’s writing. For good or ill, everyone changes over time. It’s as inevitable as erosion.