An Unacceptable Demise

The Unacceptable Demise

In order to die in peace, one must accept the inevitability of death. Often when death becomes a reality, regret begins to consume the person. In the novel The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence, Hagar never seems to be able to grasp an acceptance of death. Hagar is constantly characterized as being a stubborn person, which results in her continually fighting her fate and persistently disregard the fact that she is going to die. Also, throughout many distinct settings in the novel, Hagar tends to deny death which is reflected through the different settings in the novel. Finally, due to the fact that Hagar has had so many missed opportunities throughout her life, she ends up being overwhelmed with the feeling of regret which is demonstrated through the narration of the novel. Hagar is a very complex and stubborn character, and as a result she is never able to accept her death.

Hagar is portrayed as being a very obstinate individual who can never grasp the fact that she will eventually die. Throughout the novel, there are many occasions where we see Hagar trying to change the outcome of her own fate. We first see this when Hagar is brought to Silver Threads. Hagar being the stubborn woman that she is says “’you’ll not see me here,” I blurt. “Oh—I don’t mean to be rude. But you’ll not see me coming here to stay’” (Laurence 104). Hagar says this when she is consulting with Mrs. Steiner, and even though she enjoys speaking with her, Hagar’s fear of staying in the nursing home completely overturns the pleasure of the situation. Also, the thought of being left in a nursing home to die irritates her because she is not choosing the way she wants to spend her remaining years. The next time we see Hagar try to change her destiny is when she leaves town and goes to Shadow Point. This is a prime example of her trying to run away from her fate. She defends her decision by saying “the only escape from those places is feet first in a wooden box”...