This short story “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen is about complicated relationship between mother and daughter. The author gives us a portrait of American’s life in the 1930s - 1940s during the Big Depression. In this story the mother has to leave her daughter in the nursing center because of Emily’s mental problems, but she doesn’t expect what are the counsicuances might to be after that. One of the main theme in this story is a “power” of “they” and how it implicates to the ordinary people’s lives . The voice of power reflects to the reader as a “they”.
The author starts this story when the mother is ironing the dress and thinking about her daughter. She doesn’t know how to help