FREE ESSAY ON ESSAY ON I STAND HERE IRONING BY TILLIE OLSEN

ESSAY ON I STAND HERE IRONING BY TILLIE OLSEN

"I Stand Here Ironing", by Tillie Olsen is a short story portraying the life and regret of
a young mother struggling to raise her oldest daughter. The mother- daughter relationship
is the major part of the story and the attitude of the mother toward her daughter, Emily,
and the actual character of the mother are two very important elements. The character of
the mother can be said to be strong and persevering, and along with her age and
experience came her wisdom. At first her attitude toward her daughter seemed more of
resigned and regretful, but as Emily grew up and became a beautiful and talented young
women, the mother knows to let her be and leave her to live her own life.
The character of the mother is crucial to the entire story, for it is this that will
determine her attitudes toward her daughter. She at first, seemed very naive and weak in
a big scary world, with society constantly nipping at her heels, but, as she lives, she
learns to take life as it comes and try her hardest to do her best. Which at that time
was no easy thing to do. The strength and love that the mother exhibits constantly keeps
the idea of hope with the reader. The character of the mother is a determining factor in
her attitude towards her daughter. As her character changed, so did her feelings about
Emily.
In the beginning of the story, the mother talks of how sorry and regretful she is of her
daughter's childhood. She looks at her unfortunate daughter, Emily, with pity, first of
all, because of her uncontrollable circumstances in society. Despite the mother's self-
incriminating thoughts, the dents in the mold of their relationship were made by the
harsh circumstances of their lives. From the beginning we hear about the mother's self-
inculpating thoughts of all she "did and did not do." To many people, the ideal mother-
daughter relationship is not like the one we find in this short story. This is neither
the fault of the mother or the daughter. Through her own relative thoughts, the mother
illustrates the relationship that evolved with her daughter. Secondly, Emily, as a little
girl wasn't the epitome of what the ideal child should be Emily was "dark and foreign
looking" when all the girls her age should be Shirley Temple look-alikes. Because she
didn't fit in she was awkward, therefore isolating herself from the rest of the kids her
age. This attitude and feeling toward Emily has changed since then, and now she realizes
that Emily is a talented young woman with the chance of a great future.
As Emily grew older and the mother grew wiser, her attitude toward her daughter changed
as well. When Emily grew out of her awkward stage, the mother realized what a beautiful
and capable young women she had grown to become. The mother can clearly see this, and
does not realize any problems with her daughter. When the social worker calls, she
basically tells them to back off and let Emily be. Her main hope for her daughter is that
she realizes what potential she has, and she won't conform to society, but have a mind of
her own do what makes her happy.
The character of the mother in "I Stand Here Ironing" is one that is wise and strong. She
is able to be pushed to the lowest and stand back up again. Those characteristics
determine her attitude toward her daughter, Emily. At first while she was still young,
she looks with pity upon her daughter who she so hopelessly was not able to provide for.
But as time proceeds she realizes that her youth was just a small stage in her life that
she has grown out of, almost like a butterfly. Emily now is a lovely young woman with
much potential. All the mother can hope for now is that Emily herself can and will
realize the power she holds within.