I Stand Here Ironing

Connections

1Parents should not love one child more than the other, but sometimes difficult

circumstances create scenarios, where favoritism is unavoidable. Likewise, this is the case in

2Tillie Olsen’s short story “I Stand Here Ironing,” 3where a mother looks back on the way she

raises her child, Emily, and sees all the wrong that made the connection with her daughter fall

apart.4Emily’s mom makes an effort to smooth out the wrinkles in her daughter’s dress, for this

in the mother’s mind is her desire to smooth the wrinkles in her relationship with her daughter.

5Because Olsen presents a parents’s wrong relationship with their child, we can observe the

effect it brings to both the child and the parent’s psyche, children’s mental development depend

on the parents. 6Furthermore, the first paragraph will explain the parent’s situation perspective,

the second will describe how it affects the child, and the third will describe how it affects the

parent. 7Every parent loves their child and somehow society makes them see the wrongs in their

upbringing, which brings forth guilt and regret.

The reader learns that both the mother and the daughter do not have a strong relationship.

Olsen presents the story through a first person point of view so the reader can see the situation

the mother is in and how she sees her daughter. Furthermore, the readers ache with the

knowledge that the father can 5“ no longer endure” his family. Thus, what 5“ he writes in

his goodbye note” indicates that now that the narrator is left to care for her child alone. In

addition, she has to 5“[find] a job at night,” which creates difficulties where the mother can rarely

see her child. Emily, as a child, is frequently ill, which forces the mother to 5“send her away to a

convalescent home” to not get her other children sick. All of these troubles create

disconnections and it 2affects the 2psyche of both the 2parent and the 2child and the

2development of each person. Nevertheless, the mother loves her child and works hard so she

can 5“keep her family together.”4 Love is important nutrient to raising a child, for in return

the child might return that same love back, which in today’s society rarely exists. The author uses

an emotional tone to show how the mother wishes her circumstances were different to have a

different relationship with her daughter.

It is a gift to love, but a far greater one to express it through works and actions. Emily, the

central character, seems to be a mere presence in her family by the lack of attention. As a result,

both the 2child and2parent do not have a strong relationship, which affects the 2development of

their 2psyche. Through the mother’s internal monologue the reader can observe that Emily

wishes to be 5“somebody” through her interest in comedy. She desires to be someone else to

forget the past and escape the world of reality.Through characterization, Emily is changing, from

a 5“thin and dark” young girl, looking nothing like Shirley Temple, to a 5“beautiful” woman.That

is, the narrator and reader can see that Emily came a long way through life. She is a winner of

life, but in the end she decides to be 5“dead” in life. School work is of no importance, and she

decides