Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel tracks the lives of a number of characters, central among whom are Hagar Shipley, her husband Bram, and her friend and sometimes nemesis Lottie Simmons. A central theme in the novel is aging, a process that is inexorable and brings with it both self-awareness and frailty. This essay will demonstrate that none of these characters (Hagar, Bram, and Lottie) age well, most having missed the joy of life and settled instead for less satisfying achievements.
Hagar is the narrator of the story and her life sits at its heart. She is seen by her son, Marvin, as "a holy terror" while her nurse regards her as follows: "She's got an amazing constitution, your mother. One of those hearts that just keeps on working, whatever else is gone" (305). Indeed, Hagar may have a strong constitution and heart, but she realizes as she is dying that "I lie here and try to think of something truly free that I've done in ninety years" and realizes that only insignificant and fleeting moments have been truly free in all her life. She married and then learned to hate her husband, had children and found them deficient in many ways, and missed out on most of the joy of living. Her aging has not made her gentle or kind or happy, and all she is left with is the "urgency" that demands release with narcotics.
Bram Shipley is a man whose wife (Hagar) only wants the people in their town to respect him, "In those days I still hoped he'd do well, not for its own sake, for I never cared about making a show" (84). However, Bram does not have the ambition or skills needed for success, causing Hagar to leave him and to return only when learning that he is sick unto death. Bram dies slowly, "in the night, with no fuss and no one beside him...In death he didn't resemble Brampton Shipley in the slightest. He looked like the cadaver of an old unknown man, and that was all" (183). Even in death, Bram ahs not succeeded in making muc...