Stand Here Ironing by Tilie Olsen

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Wake up, go to school, come home, eat, do homework, sleep. Wake up, go to school, come home, eat, do homework, sleep. Wake up, go to school, come home, eat, do homework, sleep. This is the life of a teenager. They do the same things over and over again barley having enough time to interact with their family and friends. This schedule alters slightly as one gets older, but for the most part everything stays the same. Each day a repeat of the day before. In the short story “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, the narrator begins with a the simple task of ironing and all throughout the story she continues to iron. For the narrator every day is the same. A day filled with chores and work and more chores and no time to spend loving her daughter. The psychological aspect of this story reflects on the narrator’s perspective of her own life and the regrets she has about raising her eldest daughter. This can be seen through the setting, point of view, and symbols throughout the story.
“I stand here ironing.” These first four words of the story say nothing and yet everything about who the character is, what he or she is like, and where he or she is. The author’s intention is to have the reader assume who the character is. Naturally, the readers will surmise that the person ironing is a woman, probably a mother ironing for a large family if she is constantly ironing, and she can not afford to have others do her laundry. All of the assumptions of the reader would be correct. The narrator is a poor mother, with a large family, who, for the most part, is raising her children on her own. The setting of the story gives us image of a very busy mother. Aside from her home there is one other location described in the story. The convalescent home...

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...pend any time with her. She is asking her if she will ever be deserving of her attention.
Emily, in a sense, is a reflection of her mother. The story flashes back to when the narrator was about Emily’s current age which also happens to be when the narrator gave birth to Emily. From that point forward the narrator’s life was very difficult and although someone is pointing out to her that Emily needs her help and attention, she does not put any effort into helping her. The narrator realizes that Emily’s situation will have negative consequences because it directly mirrors her life. The whole story was an introspection on the narrator’s life, but the purpose of this self reflection was to learn from her life and see how it may apply to her daughter’s life. From the introspection of the narrator one could learn to gain from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others.

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