Mother-Daughter Relationships In Tillie Olsen's I Stand Here Ironing

The complexity of mother-daughter relationships is influenced by the role a mother plays, whether it is well-balanced or lacking emotional and/or physical availability. Whatever the case, a mother’s actions combined with sets of circumstances can shape her child’s individuality. Therefore, when a child is thought to be socially unacceptable, mothering itself includes many internal conflicts concerning what she could have done differently from the start. Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing” captures a mother’s internal thoughts while struggling to either help change her daughter’s new behavior or embrace her individuality now that she has come out of her shell.

The past hardships which shaped Emily’s personality are well-defined in this narrative