Stubborn Pride in The Stone Angel :: essays research papers

In the novel there is mention of the war cry of the Curries, â€Å"Gainsay who dare!† (15). Such a translation may be "Oppose me (us) if you dare to." There is a very predominant theme of stubborn pride in The Stone Angel, which makes the novel sententious to its readers. Pride refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person, group, or object that one identifies with. Proud comes from late Old English prud, probably from Old French prude "brave, valiant". There are destructive and constructive effects of stubborn pride in that pride is a double-edged sword and separates inclination and response. There is a certain amount of pride that goes along with social status. 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, on account of "he had begun without money" (14). Hagar stated, "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† (9). Hagar recounts the Stone Angel as being "my mother's angel that my father bought in pride to mark her bones and proclaim his dynasty†¦" (3). Hagar's father was an extremely proud man, a trait that was inevitably passed on to his daughter, and he took great pride in this "terribly expensive" statue, which "had been brought from Italy" †¦ "and was pure white marble" (3). Hagar calls to mind displaying her pride as young 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). The Currie's thought very much of themselves, this is shown when Hagar speaks of her father, saying, "Matt and Dan and I always knew he could never have brought himself to marry his housekeeper" (17). All too often though, pride can be the defining trait that leads to the tragic hero's tragic downfall. Excessive pride also materializes itself as arrogance. It interferes with the individual's acceptance of the grace of God, or the worth which God sees in others. As Mr. Troy asks Hagar, â€Å"Don’t you believe, in God’s infinite Mercy?† (120), she replys â€Å"What’s so merciful about Him, I’d like to know?† (120). Hagar had developed such pride in herself that she had even let go of God, or the fact that she needed God.