Oldal 63 [63]
OCR
THE RESONANCE OF MANAWAKA: LANDSCAPES OF RECONCILIATION OUTER AND DOMESTIC LANDSCAPES Margaret Laurence’s literary works consistently explore the symbolism of the house as a powerful representation of belonging and home. The interplay between the concepts of “home” and “house” exerts distinct influences on identity and the sense of belonging, as noted by Mary Douglas, who argues that “home” is “located in space” and involves bringing that space under control, while “house” represents the physical structure (289). Both elements significantly shape one’s self-perception. Moreover, as Karen Macfarlane suggests, the recurring motif of the house as a symbol of one’s identity resonates deeply with Canada’s unsettled relationship with postcolonial tensions (223). Just as postcolonial narratives are often characterized by binary oppositions and contrasts, the protagonists’ perception of home within Laurence’s Manawaka texts also oscillates ambivalently. Whether raised in grand brick houses of pioneering ancestors or fringing-town shacks, Laurence’s characters experience a sense of unbelonging and often escape to some kind of real or imaginary landscape. In The Stone Angel, Hagar wanders through various houses in her landscape of memory, each embodying a different stage of her journey. From the imposing brick house of her childhood, through the worn Shipley place during her marriage and Mr. Oatley’s house where she worked as a housekeeper, to the Vancouver house she bought herself, each house contributes to shaping Hagar’s identity. Her emotional connection to her own house is profound; she sees it as an embodiment of her identity, as a repository of her experiences, memories, and personal autonomy. Hagar, both angry and desperate when realizing that she is losing her house and therefore the anchor to her identity, states: “If 1 am not somehow contained in [...] this house, something of all change caught and fixed here, eternal enough for my purposes, then I do not know where I am to be found at all” (Laurence, The Stone Angel 34). Thus, when faced with the impending sale of her house, Hagar’s fundamental sense of Self and belonging is threatened. Unable to face this threat, Hagar flees to the wilderness where she hopes to preserve her autonomy. There is another layer of symbolism of the house in The Stone Angel that underscores the significance of acknowledging history and fostering intergenerational understanding. Hagar bought her house for the money inherited from Mr. Oatley, her former employer, who made a fortune smuggling Chinese women into Canada to evade the prohibitive head tax. In the hospital, where Hagar recovers from her adventure in the wilderness, she encounters Sandra Wong, a descendant of Chinese immigrants. Hagar suddenly realizes that Sandra’s grandmother might be one of those women that Mr. Oatley assisted in bringing to Canada. Hagar thus contemplates that she might “owe [her] house to [Sandra’s] grandmother’s passage money” (Laurence, The Stone Angel +61 +
