Character Analysis "I Stand Here ironing"
Amber Iannuzzi Iannuzzi 1
Professor Scordia
English 101
October 3, 2014
Character Analysis
In “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen (Published in 1961) we get wrapped
into a story from a young single mother’s point of view. Tillie Olsen says she wanted
people to “. . . focus on ‘society and its institutions’ that force the narrator to suffer
anguish” (402). We all know the idea of what society expects of a mother, and also what
they see fit as a “perfect mother”. What society doesn’t grasp is the difficulties it
is to maintain this character in the struggles of balancing work, parenting, and
everyday life to the underprivileged though the narrator did what she could as a
parent even with facing all the difficulties and dilemma she came across. The
Narrator in “I Stand Here Ironing” holds a heavy heart of guilt for her lack of
involvement for her daughter and the way she turned out, but at the same time
she knows she can’t hold all the blame.
“I Stand here Ironing” opens with the narrator being asked to come in and
speak about her daughter. We are never told who is asking this, but whoever is
seeking information from the narrator believed that her daughter Emily “needs
help”. The narrator expresses that Emily is the first of five children. She goes into
deeply explaining Emily as “The first and only one of our five that was beautiful at
birth.” (402) our narrator proceeds to tell us that Emily’s father left them therefore
she was left with the struggle of being a single mother at only nine-teen years
Iannuzzi 2
old. Due to the situation at hand our narrator had to send Emily away to her
father’s family at a young age. The reasoning was so that she could make
enough money to live a somewhat stable life and also have the proper care for
her daughter as she worked.
Professor Scordia
English 101
October 3, 2014
Character Analysis
In “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen (Published in 1961) we get wrapped
into a story from a young single mother’s point of view. Tillie Olsen says she wanted
people to “. . . focus on ‘society and its institutions’ that force the narrator to suffer
anguish” (402). We all know the idea of what society expects of a mother, and also what
they see fit as a “perfect mother”. What society doesn’t grasp is the difficulties it
is to maintain this character in the struggles of balancing work, parenting, and
everyday life to the underprivileged though the narrator did what she could as a
parent even with facing all the difficulties and dilemma she came across. The
Narrator in “I Stand Here Ironing” holds a heavy heart of guilt for her lack of
involvement for her daughter and the way she turned out, but at the same time
she knows she can’t hold all the blame.
“I Stand here Ironing” opens with the narrator being asked to come in and
speak about her daughter. We are never told who is asking this, but whoever is
seeking information from the narrator believed that her daughter Emily “needs
help”. The narrator expresses that Emily is the first of five children. She goes into
deeply explaining Emily as “The first and only one of our five that was beautiful at
birth.” (402) our narrator proceeds to tell us that Emily’s father left them therefore
she was left with the struggle of being a single mother at only nine-teen years
Iannuzzi 2
old. Due to the situation at hand our narrator had to send Emily away to her
father’s family at a young age. The reasoning was so that she could make
enough money to live a somewhat stable life and also have the proper care for
her daughter as she worked.
Cited: Olsen, Tillie. “I Stand Here Ironing.” The Seagull Reader: Literature. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York: Norton, 2005. 401-409 Print.