I Stand Here Ironing Analysis

1.) Overall main topic of this book connects between the issue of motherhood and feminism. One major key point I found while reading this book is the author, Amber Kinser explains the growth and progress of the role of mothers in the american society meaning how the roles have changed overtime. A major theme of Kinser’s book is that the public debates may focus on mothering, but the issues affect us all.  Cutting back on health care for women, on education, and on jobs for teachers, social workers and others in the service sector have their greatest impact on mothers, but they affect all of us. Motherhood becomes a symbol for how men and women, single and married, gay and straight, deal with the need for individual options and the need to act for the good of others.

The plot of the story has the mother, the main character in the story explain the hardships she and her daughter endured while she worked including: sitters, daycares, illnesses, and travelling. She never doubted the love she had for her daughter but knew her experiences caused Emily to battle with depression. She explained her love for her daughter so passionately including how she despised leaving her with strangers for her to work. She expressed in detail how much her daughter missed her mother as well while she was away. It was an enormous transition for both of them. She continued to explain the difficulty of being without her daughter and having to send her daughter to stay with her abandoning husband’s family. How difficult to consistently relocate your baby to different places and strangers in order to assure she is safe and in the best care because you are working too much to

In the article “A Mother’s Day Kiss-Off,” author Leslie Bennetts states that people look over and under appreciate mothers, leaving them to have to handle responsibilities on their own. Bennetts supports this by providing stories, interviews, and using assertive language. In the article “The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was,” author Hope Edelman expresses that she feels as if she has no say in her own home. Edelman proves her point by expressing her opinion and telling stories to persuade the reader to their side. Although Edelman and Bennetts both convey their beliefs about equality, Bennetts explains how she wants equality for all women, while Edelman just wants equality in her own home.

Carlson, Marc. “The Greatest Mother in the World” 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 1 July 2017.

Current media is an influencing factor of the pressure placed on western women to juggle the “double burdern”. “New media” as describe by writer Susan J. Douglas “is just as culpable as the “Old media” in perpetuating unrealistic cultural expectations about women, mothers and mothering” . The media portrays what J. Douglas refers as the “New Model Mom”, which describes the expectations of working mothers. The “New Model Mom” is athletically slender, always well groomed, smiling, always attentive to their husbands and has a perfectly balanced diet. This unrealistic image of the prefect mother is placing women with the sole responsibility of caring for the child, domestic duties and still being expected to return the workforce with no extra ask

The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittenden describes what mother’s give up in order to raise their children. It looks at things such as the mommy tax, why mothers are underappreciated, and what changes can be made to counteract that. This paper gives an overview of what mothers give up, why they are forced to give up what they do, an opinion change of motherhood balanced with a career, and a proposal that is believed to benefit mothers the most.

Tillie Olsen’s short story, “I Stand Here Ironing,” expresses a single mother’s ability to care for her first born child Emily. She feels guilty over how she lacked showing her love and affection. At only nineteen years old during the Great Depression and Emily’s father leaving only eight months after the birth of Emily, she was forced to start working long hours at night. Eventually, Emily’s mother had to leave her daughter with his family, causing distance and lack of a bond between the two. The theme of “I Stand Here Ironing” involves a mother wanting her child to have a better upbringing and life overall, however, due to poverty, remarriage, four more children, inability to show love, and frequent absences, her guilt

The term 'working mother' is a redundancy. No woman need feel any guilt for opting to fill her days with whichever activities give her the greatest joy and fulfillment” (English, 2005).

In her essay, she informs us about how the extra work towards mothers is affecting them. She shows studies and her own observations of over 52 couples that prove this is becoming a problem in women and families leading to more workload, depression, divorce and less interest in sex. She compares the

In the article, “A Mother’s Day Kiss-Off,” author Leslie Bennetts explains her rage about the Mother’s Day holiday and the unfair expectations of mothers in modern America. Bennetts feels that the treatment of women and mothers is unfair, causing women and mothers everywhere to be angry. Bennetts proclaims that women feel inferior in most aspects of life, and she explains that this is unfair and all too common. Bennetts challenges women to realize that they are not alone and should keep fighting for themselves. In doing so, Bennetts loses credibility in her idea that women are oppressed housewives due to her negative tone and approach to men and husbands.

We see the girl growing up sick, taken away to a group home, and dealing with depression. Though the mother always did everything in her power to help her daughter be the best she can be, still she finds that her child is completely different than her, stricken by all that has happened to her during her childhood years. By the end, Tillie Olsen uses the mother’s ironing as a metaphor for her daughter’s difficult life. Giving hope to her child that she is more than simply the tribulations. It says “Only help her know… that she is more than this dress on the ironing board…” In other words, it means that all of that misfortune, that the mother tried to prevent, are only a small part of her daughter’s life. That her child’s life is defined not by that which happened by what her outlook of the event. From such a metaphor we can also deduce that the mother herself has even less significance than the troubles in her child’s life. That her daughter’s upbringing is more dependent on outside factors than what her mother teaches

Becoming a parent, in its simplest form, is like spotting a wandering turtle on a lawn; in a heartbeat, the defensive instinct is to protect surfaces, and soon, the ache and determination to nurture the creature, give her a name, plan her successful future, and/or read her the classics become inevitable. Tillie Olsen’s reflective short story, “I Stand Here Ironing,” scrutinizes the crescendos and diminuendos of parenthood through her narrator, who, under debilitating pressure, must raise five children as a single mother. Olsen’s writing crafts a distinctive style of a diversified syntactical format, a realistic diction, a rich pattern of imagery, and a pedestrian, yet earnest, tone that chronicles the memories that the mother has of raising Emily, her first daughter, and simultaneously sheds light on the mother’s

“I have to drive to work, take care of my finances, maintain a social life, and take care of my kids while being a supportive wife,” a modern woman would say. Throughout American literature and history, the role of a “traditional woman” was vacuous- to stay at home, to cook, to clean, and to take care of the children. Today, that stereotypical role is no longer a strong foundation for their lifestyle. Women’s role in America has changed overtime because they are no longer dependent on men, discarded in the workforce, or seen as voiceless and depreciated.

The most under appreciated job that ever existed is being a mother. In Linda Pastans poem Marks fungibility, denial of subjectivity, and rejection of patriarchy roles are used to show the mother being pushed so far she finally breaks and decides to give up on her family. By leaving her family she is finally able to become her own person and not be subjected to criticism for every little thing she does.

In the sixth paragraph we are introduced to the old woman’s neglectful and abusive husband and son, undoubtedly the embodiment of the worst traits in all of us. They treat her with complete disrespect, and yet expect her to continue serving their endless needs. For instance, if the old man were to come home and find no food on the table, “…the old man gave his old woman a cut over the head” (25). Of course, she continues to feed them, and every other mouth on their pathetic farm. Interestingly enough, if they would only give her more to work with, (i.e., more money, more hens, more love, more respect), she would undoubtedly be able to provide much more for them in turn. The men are hurting their own cycle of sustenance. This is so painfully symbolic of our relationship with our caretaker, Mother Earth. Even though we repeatedly abuse the source of our nourishment, she continues to provide for those that give so little back.