Brampton dies and Hagar and John are left to themselves. Due to the over-liberty given to him by his mother, he becomes useless day by day. John is attending to the needs of his father. In the meantime Marvin has married Doris while he is away from home. Therefore, Hagar arranges a temporary maid for Mr.

John writes to Hagar that his father has been sick and he would be meeting his end very soon. He insists to find work somewhere in Shipley’s place, and he does so. Hagar comes to know that he is secretly keeping in touch with Marvin and Brampton. After some years John leaves the school as he is not interested in studies anymore. She is given the job of housekeeping in Mr. When Marvin is seventeen, he joins the army and Hagar along with John goes to work in the coast. Marvin is Brampton’s favourite and John, Hagar’s. Hagar does not approve of this and naturally both the husband and wife quarrel often. He is crazy after horses, and to buy them he almost becomes a bankrupt. Brampton does not have the ability to prosper in life. Her father Jason Currie breaks the relationship with his daughter, because he could never think of Brampton being a suitable husband for his daughter. Hagar marries Brampton against the wishes of her father. He also has two daughters who were not in terms with him. He is fourteen years senior to her and is a widower.

In her youth, Hagar is drawn towards Brampton Shipley, not a well-to-do man. The disappointed Hagar stays back and keeps her father’s accounts. But when she reveals her interest in teaching, he turns down her wish. On the other hand, Jason makes Hagar learn many household jobs such as embroidery menu-planning for a five-course meal and so on.

When Matt shows interest to join college, he does not encourage it because he thinks that it is not necessary for him to join the college as he has sufficient education, and that Matt can become prosperous even if he looks after the store. Hagar is good at studies, and Jason is pleased by that. He is of the opinion that if one does well in studies, he or she can get anywhere in the world. Apart from Hagar, he has two sons – Dan and Matt. She is the daughter of Jason Currie, a store owner. Hagar Shipley is the narrator of the story who discloses her past in the chronological order. Such a strict father is portrayed in The Stone Angel. But if a father overdoes it he creates havoc in the lives of his own children. Strictness and discipline are essential things in the nurturing of children. Margaret Laurence in her novel The Stone Angel, one of the five works set in the Canadian prairie town of Manawaka, presents the life of Hagar Shipley, a ninety year old woman, whose life seems to be completely governed by her own stubbornness, the cause of which being her own father’s proud and strict attitude towards his children.

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence