The Stone Angel - Theme of Pride

The Stone Angle - Theme of Pride

Short Summation of Pride-Related Occurrences: The first reference to pride is in the second sentence of the novel: Hagar describes the Stone Angel as "my mother's angel that my father bought in pride to mark her bones and proclaim his dynasty…" (3). Hagar's father was a very proud man, a trait that was passed on to his daughter, and he takes great pride in this "terribly expensive" statue, which "had been brought from Italy" … "and was pure white marble" (3). Hagar recollects exhibiting her pride as early as age 6 when she says "There was I, strutting the board sidewalk like a pint-sized peacock, resplendent, haughty, hoity-toity, Jason Currie's black-haired daughter" (6). Jason Currie was a "self-made man" who "had pulled himself up by his bootstraps" (7). Hagar was very proud of her father's success, seeing as how "he had begun without money" (14).

Hagar's father, because he worked so hard, took great pleasure in his store. She says, "Father took such pride in the store - you'd have thought it was the only one on earth. It was the first in Manawaka, so I guess he had due cause. He would lean across the counter, spreading his hands, and smile so wonderfully you'd feel he welcomed the world" (9). Mr. Currie had excessive self-esteem, as seen when the Reverend Dougall MacCulloch was calling out the names of the people who had contributed to help build the new church. Jason Curried leaned over and arrogantly said to his daughter "I and Luke McVitie must've given the most, as he called our names the first" (16).