I Stand Here Ironing

I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen was a very complicated story. The woman was talking the entire story, but it did not mention who she was talking to or they never responded to her. I believe that the mother was not there for her daughter. When whoever she was talking to asked her to help her daughter, she said, “You think because I am her mother I have a key, or that in some way you could use my key.”

I wonder what happened to Emily. The stories that her mother was telling about her childhood showed that she was a normal child at first. The woman kept repeating how beautiful she was when she was a baby. That suggests that she didn't believe she was beautiful then. Emily's father ran out on them when she was born. The woman said that he “could no longer endure sharing want with us.” I think this impacted her greatly ans the new baby made her frustrated. She had to work and was struggling financially.

I think that Emily was suffereing from child abuse because her mother would leave her in the house by herself and send her off to places. I'm not sure the mother was entusiastic about her first baby because she never smiled at her. She didn't show Emily any emotions. The place that Emily was sent to was kind of awkward. I't not sure why she was sent there, but she became very skinny and frail. When she returned home she seemed very depressed and sad.

This story is the type of story that the reader has to read over and over to understand.