Pride, Self-Deception, and Marital Dissonance in Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel

Abstract

Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel (1964) is a psychologically intricate depiction of Hagar Shipley, a woman whose existence is defined by pride, emotional repression, and damaged relationships. This paper looks at the dissonance in her marriage and emotional estrangement created by the inflexibility of Hagar’s selfhood and the delusional nature of her false self-esteem. Drawing on feminist and psychoanalytic theories, the study contends that Hagar’s struggle to reconcile vulnerability with autonomy results in her separation from her husband, children, and eventually herself. Her late-life self-awareness emphasises the damaging repercussions of pride and the need for emotional vulnerability to have meaningful human interactions.