The stone angel statue symbolizes the pride of the Curie family, Hagar's inability to relate and share her emotions, and the blindness and the ignorance that derives from the constant refusal to see things from another point of view other than one's own. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The stone angel symbolizes the pride of the Curie family because it does not seem to serve its purpose, which is to honor our Hagar's mother who had died giving birth to her. Hagar describes Mrs Curie as a "mild woman" and a "weak ghost", while she herself describes herself as "stubborn" and "practical". The statue was purchased in Italy and brought to Manawaka cemetery "at terrible expense... with pride to mark his bones and proclaim his [Mr. Currie's] dynasty, as he imagined, forever and a day" (p. 3). Mr Currie bought the angel "with pride" rather than sorrow for someone he considered his possession, his "dynasty". The stone angel is also a symbol of Hagar's pride as she inherited it from her father. It was this pride that prevented her from speaking out 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 just to spite her father, Hagar married Bram Shipley soon after returning from school. From day one, Hagar's marriage to Bram was a complete embarrassment to her and her family: "When I listened to Bram spin his webs, my stomach turned most of all, not what he said but the fact that he had done a laughing stock" (p. 114). After learning of their marriage plans, 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 get 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 face. When she applies for a job to get away from Mananawka and her husband, she lies to her boss about her real affair with Bram. Hagar's pride prevents her from expressing her emotions or relating to other people, and as a result she turns out to be just as hard and unyielding as the stone angel himself. She never reveals her true feelings at the risk of being considered "weak" and misses out on many potentially great relationships as a result. As a very young woman, her pride prevented her from comforting her dying brother: But all I could think of was that meek woman I had never seen, the woman Dan said she looked so much like and from whom he had inherited a fragile I could help but hate him, as much as part of me wanted to sympathize. Playing at being her was beyond me. When Abram's horse died, it was difficult for her to find something reassuring to say or do because she always had a stone wall built between them. Seeing Abram's hunched shoulders and the look on his face, I suddenly approached him without stopping to think about whether or not I should, or what to say. . . Then, awkwardly: “I'm sorry, Bram. I know you were fond of him. Hagar comes to boast of her self-control and detachment. Margaret Laurence establishes this despite Hagar's refusal to admit to her husband that she enjoys making love to him." him: It wasn't long after our marriage, when for the first time I felt my blood and my vital functions.