A Report On: Laurence's The Stone Angel The lees in wine are the dregs and sediment at the bottom, the part that nobody drinks. In Laurence's The Stone Angel, Murray F. Lees is an insurance salesman, who admits that those in his profession are considered the dregs of society. Despite being the kind of person Hagar Shipley would normally have dismissed as boring and annoying, he is actually a representation of atonement. Hagar's atonement starts with developing an understanding of religion and blame, and becomes obvious with purgation. When Hagar is finished with her conversation with Mr. Lees she has atoned for the miseries that have plagued her throughout her life.