Hagar's frenzied shopping spree, followed by her physical death, recalls Milkman's shopping at a Rexall drugstore in Chapter 4 while contemplating the end of his and Hagar's relationship. It also illustrates Morrison's ability to paint a vivid portrait of the tragicomedy of life.
Convinced that Milkman has abandoned her because she fails to meet his expectations, obsessed with her "graveyard love," and seduced by the promise of consumerism — that the "right" product will magically solve her problems — Hagar resolves to recreate herself into what she envisions as Milkman's image of an ideal woman. When she realizes that her efforts have been in vain, she fixates on the idea that he doesn't love her because he doesn't like her kinky hair.
Morrison has said that the concepts of physical beauty and romantic love are two of the most destructive forces in civilization. Here, she illustrates the powers of these destructive forces through Hagar, who not only has been socialized to accept both concepts but has internalized them as primary values that define her identity and self-image. Although Hagar's obsession with her hair may seem trivial, it symbolizes the black woman's frustrated efforts to meet white standards of beauty, epitomized by blue eyes, fair skin, and long, flowing hair. Thus when Guitar speculates that Hagar's low self-esteem stems from her lack of support from the black community, he fails to take into account the damage inflicted on Hagar's self-image by the beauty myths fostered by white-dominated society and perpetuated by the mainstream media. Like Macon, Hagar is so caught up in trying to create an acceptable image that she has lost touch with herself — with her self. And like Ruth, she tries to cope with reality by escaping into a fantasy world. When she is no longer able to sustain her fantasy and realizes that, unlike Sleeping Beauty, she will not be saved by love, she loses the will to live and dies.
