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The Character Hagar In Milkman's Song Of Solomon

335 Words2 Pages

In the novel Song of Solomon, the story of the character Hagar can be significantly compared to the biblical allusion of Sarah’s maid in Genesis 16:2. The name Hagar is connected to the story of Sarah and Abraham. When Sarah cannot conceive a child, she tells her husband Abraham to "go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her." Hagar, Sarah's maid, is not asked about the situation and expected to comply, she conceives Abraham's child and births the child, but then is not allowed to be part of the child's life. Instead, Sarah takes the role of the child's mother. Sarah ultimately becomes jealous of the pregnant Hagar and punishes her. Hagar is essentially used for Sarah's benefits and dedicates herself to her only to receive punishment in return, she is thrown away by Sarah just as Milkman uses her and then leaves her in the novel. …show more content…

Yet abandons her when he becomes bored of her. Even though Hagar essentially becomes obsessed with Milkman, attempting to murder him each month, the reader cannot help but to feel sympathy and sorrow for her, as she has in essence dedicated her whole self and life to Milkman simply to be rejected. The use of the biblical connection allows for a higher quality understanding as Hagar as a character and therefore allows the reader to understand her situation. Just as Hagar is a maid in the bible, in the novel Hagar is a part or the poor community. She lives in a house with no electricity and limited resources, Milkman is virtually her only hope of escaping her low status in society, therefore, it is justified that when her chance of a better future in taken away from her she becomes erratic and

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