However, in Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing”, the reader is presented with the more realistic, harsh side of motherhood. The story is told in a regretful, wistful tone as the mother recounts the abysmal childhood of her oldest daughter, Emily, explaining why she is the person least likely to be able to help her. In “I Stand Here Ironing” Olsen, demonstrates the unrealistic standards parents— mothers specifically—are held too, the differences in single
Summary of “I Stand Here Ironing” Tillie Olsen shows in “I Stand Here Ironing,” an emotive story about the relationship of a woman and her daughter. The woman is a young mother; she had her older child, Emily, at the age of 19. In the story, she is speaking over the phone, perhaps with a social worker, telling how she was struggling to take care of her older daughter and how she felt guilty about her daughter’s unhappy childhood. Emily’s mother admitted she was a distracted mother, but she also experienced
“I Stand Here Ironing”, by Tillie Olsen, is more meaningful because of its point of view. The story is told by a mother and the story is really just a collection of memories about her oldest child, Emily. Had the story been told from another point of view, it probably wouldn’t have been as heart wrenching. Nobody wants to see the heartbreak of a mother because a mother’s pain is, undoubtedly, the most intense kind of pain. “I Stand Here Ironing” is a look into a mother’s pain, made even more heartbreaking
of parental involvement the instant thought that comes to mind is that it is a positive thing. However, there are aspects of parental involvement in a student’s education that can hinder the achievement of each student. The story "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen shows us a mother who is struggling through her own life and does not pay any attention to her daughter.
does not have a choice in where Emily stays, for in order to even remotely provide for Emily, she must find a job and work relentlessly. For instance, Emily’s mother leaves Emily with an unappreciative neighbor as she “work[s] or look[s] for work” (Olsen 2). This is ironic in the fact that her work simultaneously provides for Emily and puts greater distance between them by robbing Emily of her presence.
incompatible with these expectations constitute gender non-conformity” (APA). Even though time has past, equality for women is still not achieved. In the short stories “The Story of an Hour”, “Hills Like White Elephants”, “Miss Brill” and “I Stand Here Ironing” all are written by authors that have women protagonists. They focus on the struggles with their gender issues throughout their journey’s. When the women are faced with sticking to the stereotypical
Emily's mother is portrayed as the narrator in the story “I Stand Here Ironing”. When a counselor from school comes to her house to discuss some concerns with Emily, her mother begins to reflect on the guilt and regret she feels toward how Emily was raised and the difficult childhood she had. The mother feels defeated as she thinks back to the mistakes she made as a mother. As a single mother, she faced extreme poverty and terrible conditions. The mother recalls her life of self-denial, deprivation