Hagar's Hymns: Echo and Allusion in Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel

In Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel, hymns define one context in which Hagar lives, and one voice that she might claim as her own. However, because singing unites many voices into a single voice, when Hagar challenges the words of hymns or connects with only a few of the hymn's words, h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American review of Canadian studies 2011-06, Vol.41 (2), p.165-176
Main Author: Beran, Carol L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Canadian literature
Canadian literature in English
Hymns
Laurence, Margaret
Literature
Margaret Laurence
Music
Religious Beliefs
Religious music
religious themes
Songs
Sound
Spirituality
The Stone Angel
Women
women writers
Writers
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:In Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel, hymns define one context in which Hagar lives, and one voice that she might claim as her own. However, because singing unites many voices into a single voice, when Hagar challenges the words of hymns or connects with only a few of the hymn's words, hymns introduce paradox and ambiguity into her quest, and blur her supposed epiphany when the minister sings "All People that on Earth Do Dwell." Although hymns may assist a character to transcend self and be subsumed into a spiritual community, hymns may also be part of a process of discovering the sound of an individual voice.
ISSN:0272-2011
1943-9954
DOI:10.1080/02722011.2011.568626