The Stone Angel is a first-person narrative that at times almost breaks into stream-of-consciousness writing as Hagar, the main character, gradually loses lucidity due to old age and illness. The narrative is divided into ten chapters, each of which shifts back and forth between the present time (the 1960s) and an earlier point in Hagar's life.
The novel is set in the fictional town of Manawaka (inspired by Neepawa), a rural part of Canada where conservative values reign and where archaic notions of gender and social class are taken seriously even in the modern era. The central character, Hagar, is a protagonist only by convention. Given her antagonistic behavior toward everyone else around her, which is rooted in her overwhelming pride, the reader would not be wrong to consider her an anti-heroine.
The book consists of two narrative arcs. The present-day story shows us the life of Hagar as an elderly woman of at least 90. Hagar lives in an upstairs bedroom in what used to be her house but which now belongs to her son Marvin. When she discovers that Marvin and his wife Doris are planning to put her into a nursing home, Hagar runs away to a rural spot called Shadow Point. She stays overnight in an abandoned house and is eventually found by her son and daughter-in-law, who immediately take her to the hospital where she is literally belted to the bed at night so that she cannot wander. From time to time, she lapses into the memories that define the second narrative arc. These memories are related to the reader in the present tense, as though they were actually happening simultaneously with the present-day narrative.
Hagar spends most of her life being defined by the men to whom she is connected. She is the third child of Jason Currie, a successful self-made businessman who has built a thriving shop up from nothing. Her mother died in Hagar's birth, and thus Hagar is raised by a housekeeper whom she calls "Auntie Doll." From an early age, it is clear Hagar takes after her stern, calculating, emotionless father; this is evidenced in the way Hagar does not even cry when her father gives her a beating. Hagar's two older brothers, on the other hand, show less aptitude for business, although their father takes pains to teach each of them the basics of the trade. Although Hagar superficially takes after her father, she is also aware of how his loveless nature has shaped her own icy demeanor.
Hagar is neither particularly maternal nor nurturing. When one of her brothers is injured by falling into a frozen pond, she refuses to nurse him through his subsequent illness on his deathbed. Later, Hagar is also a distant mother toward her two sons, unable to show emotion when Marvin, for instance, goes off to fight in World War I.
The reader can infer that Jason Currie is grooming Hagar to run and possibly inherit his family business. She—not her surviving elder brother—is sent to a finishing school in the East. Upon her return, her father wants her to keep the account books in the store. This job is vital to the success of the company. But instead of interpreting the gesture as an expression of trust and respect, Hagar regards it as her father's effort to control her. Hagar exclaims that she wants to be a schoolteacher instead, displeasing her father. And then, in a fit of rebellion, Hagar chooses to marry the crude and lower-class Brampton "Bram" Shipley. Jason Currie retaliates by cutting Hagar out of his life. Hagar, who was previously positioned to run the store, ends up not receiving any inheritance from him whatsoever.
Hagar's marriage with Bram turns out to be very unhappy. Bram speaks poorly, blows his nose with his fingers, and has the tendency to go out drinking with his lower-class friends. He is not particularly hardworking, doing only enough work to survive. Whether Hagar or their two sons are well provided for is not a factor in his decision-making. However, Hagar is physically attracted to Bram, at least initially, because of his handsome appearance, his skill as a dancer, and the fact he seems somewhat forbidden from Jason Currie's perspective. Bram also occasionally shows himself to have a warmth of character, demonstrated when he is heartbroken after his horse disappears. Bram's character creates a difficult predicament for Hagar, who feels it nearly impossible to relate to someone so unrefined. She often feels embarrassed by Bram and realizes her marriage has made it so she is no longer regarded as the highly-esteemed "Jason Currie's daughter." The couple mostly spends their time apart, except at night when Bram frequently comes to Hagar for somewhat forceful sexual encounters. The two eventually separate, and Hagar leaves town to live on the coast as a housekeeper, taking her younger son, John, with her.
As John grows to adulthood, Hagar starts to turn into her father. She resents that she cannot control her son, who eventually abandons her and returns to Manawaka, where he pairs up with a woman named Arlene, who is the daughter of Hagar's childhood friend, Lottie Dreiser. Hagar visits her hometown after hearing news of Bram's poor health. After Hagar has stayed with him for a few weeks, Bram passes away; Hagar decides to stay a few weeks more to provide company for John. But the tragedies continue as John and Arlene are killed in a car accident. Upon hearing news of her son's death, Hagar is unable to show any emotion. Later, when she is alone, she cannot weep at all. She believes she has turned to stone metaphorically, like the large, blind stone angel in the church cemetery.
In the present day, Hagar runs away when she overhears Marvin discussing the possibility of placing her in a nursing home. She associates the nursing home not only with death but also with being controlled. Having spent a lifetime controlling others and getting her own way, Hagar does not wish to become a patient. But Marvin and Doris are no longer capable of caring for her in their home.
Hagar wanders around for a while at Shadow Point, reminiscing, and she meets a stranger named Murray Lees who also spends the night in the abandoned cannery. They speak for a while, and Hagar shares some of her experiences. Later in the morning, the stranger sneaks away to bring help. After a night outdoors, Hagar is sick and suffering from the cold and damp. Marvin and Doris immediately bring Hagar to the hospital—a worse destination than even the dreaded nursing home.
Marvin, Hagar's surviving son, visits her in the hospital. Aware that she is dying, she finally apologizes to him and starts to express her feelings, even forming relationships with the other patients in the hospital. She drinks a glass of water and her train of thought cuts out, leaving the reader to imagine what is next.
