I Stand Here Ironing

Karl’Lisha Woods

February 15, 2012

Online Comp 1

In Tillie Olsen’s short story “I Stand Here Ironing” a mother’s reflections are prompted by

another person’s concern about her daughter. The writer uses many techniques in order to

characterize the mother and her attitude towards her daughter.

Although the mother does not appear to care about her daughter in the beginning of the

story, it becomes evident towards the end that she really does love her daughter. The third

paragraph of the story leads the reader to believe that the mother does not care about her

daughter. By allowing the reader to know the mother inner thoughts, her attitude towards her

daughter is first characterized. She is seen as a woman who does not understand or “have a key”

to her daughter. She remembers her daughter being a beautiful baby a birth, something that none

of her other children possessed. As the girl grows older, her loveliness seems to fade, even the

mother admits this. This can be seen in line 26 through the words “Including mine”. This is an odd

attitude for a mother to possess since most mother’s feel that their children are the best looking. By

the mother’s constant reassurance to the daughter that she was a beautiful baby, the writer is using

the technique of contrast. The contrasting emotions of the mother are presented, leading the

reader to be unsure of the mother’s true feelings concerning her daughter.

Nevertheless, the writer once again presents the mother as loving. This can be seen in line

39 “She was a miracle to me”, which shows the obvious love the mother once had for her daughter.

This is reinforced by the mother’s sadness at having to leave her daughter while she attempted to

find work. The writer uses a feeling of preoccupation to portray the mother’s attitude toward her

daughter. The mother is constantly commenting on her daughter’s loveliness, which is seen in lines

52–53. The mother is questioning why her daughter should have any...