The Role Of A Mother In Tillie Olsen's I Stand Here Ironing

“Too Much Inside” “She kept too much in herself, her life was such she had to keep too much in herself”-Tillie Olsen
Throughout the story “I Stand Here Ironing” author Tillie Olsen places readers into the eye of a mother as she evaluates the relationship dynamics between her and her oldest daughter. Using tools such as first person point of view Olsen immerses readers into the lives of The Mother and her daughter Emily and narrates the many misfortunes that occurred in both of their lives. I believe that because of this perspective Emily and her mother are portrayed as “victims” of circumstance. Olsen explains to readers that the Mother’s circumstance snowballed into unhappiness for Emily. Along with her feelings of unhappiness Emily struggled with many trials by herself. Ultimately the interaction between Emily and her mother may be the biggest factor that defines these two characters as “victims
While I sympathized with both Emily and the Mother, I was able to relate to Emily more. Perhaps it is because she and I are the same age and due to this I can see more of myself in her. We are both at the same stage of life where it is hard to see the big picture of things because there is so much we have not explored in the world. For Emily, her outlook and even her mother’s opinion is that Emily might not ever get the opportunity to do this because of where she came from. This is supported in the text when the Mother states, “She has much to her and probably little will come of it” (Olsen, 239). Due to this, I can see why Emily has self-doubt. Children look to their parents or the adults in their life for guidance and assurance. I am sure it was hard for Emily to have confidence in herself when those around her did not possess confidence in her. As a result of a lack of a clear support system, the wedge between mother and daughter deepened. Perhaps it became so deep that Emily felt forgotten by her