The story, "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, is a recall of a miserable life of a mother and her daughter after her husband left them barely a year after their first born daughter Emily was born. He left behind a new mother, who had no knowledge of how to bring up a child and also without a reliable source of income. She struggled to bring her up the best way she could, though, she now regrets it because, she did not end up being the best of her daughter due to the upbringing, which was contributed by her mother's lack of knowledge and resources to give her the quality upbringing she wished. The mother remarried later, but the hard life she passed through with her daughter haunts her even in her present days.
She narrates her ordeal from when she was born, a beautiful and loveable angle in her life "She was a beautiful baby. The first and only one of our five that was beautiful at birth". She fell in love with her newborn daughter at birth, not knowing the harsh lifestyle that she would go through. After her husband's departure, she rumored all over the place looking for a job so that could be able to sustain her life and that of her daughter. Sometimes she was forced by circumstances to take her home to live with her husband's family so that she can have time to attend to her newly found work, only for her to come back skinny and with tattered clothes which signified suffering she went through in her kin's hands. "When she finally came, 1hardly knew her, walking quick and nervous like her father, looking like her father, thin, and dressed in a shoddy red that yellowed her skin and glared at the pockmarks. All the baby loveliness gone".
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The author depicts the society as unfriendly and despiteful. For instance, after Emily was taken to a children's home, she says that they were not given good food despite their guardian's having paid for it. She got skinny and lost wait for she hardly ate the kind of food they were being offered "They had runny eggs for breakfast or mush with lumps, Emily said later, I'd hold it in my mouth and not swallow. Nothing ever tasted good, just when they had chicken". On the other hand, parents were not allowed to mingle with their children during visiting days freely. Children would stand on the balconies while the parents on the ground below to avoid what they called contamination by parental germs or physical affection. Subsequently, children were not allowed to be too closely attached to one another as Emily says. For instance, a little girl who was a friend to Emily was sent to another cottage, for being friends with Emily. "They moved her to Rose Cottage" Emily shouted in explanation. "They don't like you to love anybody here." This kind of society heightened hardship for Emily and her mother, who hardly recognized her at first sight while on a visit to the home.
While she was attending the school, one could rule out that there was a teacher who was unfriendly to her. She was a slow learner who struggled to catch up with the rest and all these years; she used to make up stories to skip attending the school probably because she did not have a pleasant life there. For instance "She always had a reason why we should stay home. Momma, you look sick. Momma, I feel sick. Momma, the teachers aren't here today, they're sick. Momma, we can't go, there was a fire there last night. Momma, it's a holiday today, no school, they told me". This proved that Emily was going through a life that wasn't comfortable for her at school.
Conclusion
The life of Emily and her mother was faced with lots of difficulties which were beyond her control since she was naive and only nineteen years of age. These hardships made her become always quiet and hardly smiled. She however later got involved in acting and became a known figure in the society despite all the hardship life put her through.
Work cited
Olsen, T. (2002). I stand here ironing. ProQuest LLC.
