Analysis Of Tillie Olsen's I Stand Here Ironing

“Only help her to know—help make it so there is cause for her to know—that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron” (Olsen, 1961). A touching sentiment that grabs ahold of a heart of the audience, because it as distressing as it sounds it comes a little too late. A story portrayal of a mother and daughter’s relationship, as well as a daughter’s devaluation during those times is tear-jerking. I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen is a representation of true emotion and somewhat guilt or the lack of, during a period when times were challenging. The point-of-view, setting, and tone demonstrate the somberness in the theme of the relationship between an over-whelmed, unemotionally connected mother to her daughter,
The mother explains how Emily’s father left when she was only eight months. This is significant because it changes the dynamic of their relationship because now she must seek work, as well as demonstrates Emily was failed by both of her parents, and we are able to visualize the mother lose her connection to her daughter and Emily’s devaluation begin. Her tone is registered during the present time and her flashback narratives. The mother describes leaving Emily with relatives and hardly recognizing her when she came home and the conditions of the nursery school being so bad that Emily would always have a reason for them to stay home, but in spite of it all she was well-mannered and never caused a fuss. She describes sending Emily to a convalescent home in an attempt to care for her in ways she couldn’t after the birth of her new baby. A home that discouraged affection by making the children scream from the balcony to speak down to their parents, illustrated further by a sign stating “Not To Be Contaminated by Parental Germs or Physical Affection” (Olsen, 1961). We can feel the coldness of this place simply by these