The Great Depression

Tillie Olson’s semi-autobiographic story “I Stand Here Ironing” focuses on a mother’s reminiscing of the decisions she’s made regarding her first child, Emily, and the resulting impact those decisions had on her daughter. The mother, also the narrator, paints a picture of guilt, resentment, and remorse toward her choices while raising Emily. Throughout the story, there’s several instances that point to the mother possibly being a victim of postpartum depression. Emily. Although the consequences of the mother’s choices have already taken effect, she can’t help but to think about what she could have done or what Emily could be if she’d made the “right” decisions, as deemed by then society’s standards. The setting takes place during a time of struggle and hopelessness in the United States, the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The birth of Emily, in this trying time, made for a much needed contrast to the sense of despair in the air. “She was a beautiful baby. The first and only one of our five that was beautiful at birth (312).” Here, it’s apparent the joy that every first-time mother has. This effervescent sentiment only lasts for eight months, though, when Emily’s father abandons his family. For a young mother living in those times, that is devastating. Being a single-parent mother in the 1930’s was unheard of and extremely taboo. She’d be seen as an outcast and a failure to her family. In her mind, the only option was to leave Emily to her ex-husband’s family, in order to make a better living herself and her daughter. Upon Emily’s return, at the tender age of two, the mother hardly recognizes her and sees her in a new light. The baby who was once beautiful is no longer. “I hardly knew her […] All the baby loveliness gone (313).” The culmination of separation, as well as the angst and disappointment that she felt for Emily’s father has taken effect and is now transferred to her daughter. Everything about Emily, from her appearance to her walk, now reminded

Bibliography: Development43.2 (2012): 201+. Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. Frye, Joanne S. “I Stand Here Ironing’: Motherhood as Experience and Metaphor.” Studies in Short Fiction 18.3 (Summer 1981): 272-292 Siegel Vol 11. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. Literature Resource Center. Web 19 Mar 2012. Gerstenlauer, Jakob, et al. "Effects of Postpartum Anxiety Disorders and Depression on Maternal Self-confidence." Infant Behavior and Development 35.2 (2012): 264+ OneFile. Web. 30 Apr. 2012.