Analysis Of Emily Awakening By Tillie Olsen

“ I STAND HERE IRONING “ is a short story written by Tillie Olsen . It is a conversation between the narrator ( a mother ) and unnamed person about her daughter ( Emily ) . In this short story , Olson reflects motherhood and how can a lovely and ordinary experience turn into a painful and exhausting experience . Moreover , she represents the challenges of a working – class woman . So , “ I STAND HERE IRONING “ sheds light on traditional gender roles and the two female’s strong bond .

Tyson states that “ Traditional gender roles cast men as rational, strong, protective, and decisive; they cast women as emotional (irrational), weak, nurturing, and submissive “ ( 85 ) . so the father in this short story should be the provider , the one who is responsible for the welfare of the family ; on the contrary , the father leaves the mother
unexpectedly claiming that he could not afford keeping the family together . As a result , he skipped his role as a strong responsible man and the mother who is supposed to be the weak housewife became the powerful single mother who works to raise her children . But according to the patriarchal society , she is un responsible mother who can’t communicate with her daughter ( Emily ) and can’t change her somber nature . So instead of reflecting the unspoken burdens of the mother and consider her as a role model , the society blame her for being uncaring and neglecting mother . For example , “ I stand here ironing , and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron “ ( 1 ) , the mother does not even have time to talk about the state of her daughter without doing her duties . Other example , “ But it came to where I had to bring her to his family and leave her . It took a long time to raise money for her fare back “ ( 2 ) , the mother was struggling as a single mother who has to work to afford her daughter ‘s basic needs . Thus , Both parents are responsible for their children not only the mother . From a feminist perspective , women should support each other , stick together and prove to the patriarchal society that they are strong enough to stand on their own and this short story shows the strong and love bond between the mother and her daughter .
This close bond is created despite the distance when the mother had to leave her daughter to the neighbors and go to work . In addition , when she remarried and left her daughter alone for hours . Emily ( the mother’s daughter ) kept this relationship strong by crying and finding excuses to stay with her mother and by supporting her mother and helping her when her stepfather was away . Also , she started to look like her mother who holds the responsibility at a young age as in “ she had to help be a mother and housekeeper , and shopper “ ( 5 ) . So , this short story shows how supportive women are to each other . Eventually , traditional gender roles and the two female’s strong bond are the focus of this short story . In “ I STAND HERE IRONING “, Olsen shows the stereotypes in any patriarchal society
.