Comparison of the Bible and Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel: an examination of archetypal references. Often, great novels and plays allude to religion, mythology, or other literary works of a dramatic nature. purposes. Shakespearean plays are perfect examples of this. Allusions help the reader or viewer better understand, through visualization, a character or event in a novel. In some cases, characters, events, or a series of events are structured based on the characters and action of other stories, whether religious, mythological, classical, or historical. The character or event therefore becomes a prototype of the character or event to which it alludes. A prototypical character in a novel is usually called an archetype. The Stone Angel, a chronicle of the life of Hagar Shipley, deliberately or accidentally parallels the biblical story of Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant, from the book of Genesis; thus, Hagar Shipley is an archetype of the biblical Hagar. In fact, many events and characters in The Stone Angel are similar to events and characters in the book of Genesis. The most important archetypal reference, however, is Hagar herself, because many of the things she does, says, and represents are indicative of what the biblical Hagar does, says, and represents. Besides sharing the same name, how much does Hagar Shipley resemble the Egyptian Hagar and, how much does The Stone Angel resemble the book of Genesis? Although the two stories are very similar, they are also very different. These similarities and differences become evident when examining Hagar, John, Marvin, Bram, and the biblical characters to whom they parallel. As previously stated, the character of Hagar Shipley is in the middle of paper......l The Stone Angel archetypes should consider and examine several aspects before delving into their work. As a tip, before writing anything, ask yourself how well you think Hagar and all the other characters fit their archetypes, if at all? Are the two stories similar enough that their resemblance is in no way coincidental? These questions will help you strengthen your arguments.Bibliography and works citedBlewett, D.. “The unity of the Manawaka cycle”. The world of the novel: a student's guide to The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence. Ed. Lillian Perigoe and Beverly Copping. Scarborough: Prentice Hall Inc., 1983. 36.Laurence, Margaret. The Angel of Peter. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1988. Thomas, Dylan. “Don’t go gentle into that good night.” The Angel of Peter. Marguerite Laurence. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1988. Prologue.