Point of view in "I Stand Here Ironing"
"I Stand Here Ironing" was written in the first person so that we could see Emily the way
her mother (narrator) saw her. Through her reverie, we feel the mother's pain that her
daughter felt ugly as a child. We ache with the knowledge that she had to send Emily to
the daycare with the "evil teacher" and to a convalescent home when she was
desperately ill. We feel her regrets that she couldn't be there with Emily as she was
growing because she was working too hard to keep the family together. When Emily is in
high school we are proud with the mother that Emily is performing on stage - and people
love her. We, too, are relieved when Emily "runs up the stairs two at a time with her
light graceful step." She has gone from a shy, awkward girl to a beautiful, confident,
graceful woman. We sense the mother's resolve that Emily will be okay: "Why were you
concerned? She will find her way." And, with the mother, we are at peace.
By using the first person narrator style, the author gives us only one point of view. She
plainly states her theme for this hard-luck story: "We were poor and could not afford for
her [Emily] the soil of easy growth. Let her be. So all that is in her will not bloom - but
in how many does it?" Had the story been told from another point of view, say as a third
person, we may have thought that the mother was neglectful, or favored the younger
children. When we discover that the mother only smiled at the younger children, we may
think that the mother didn't like Emily. Concern has become disfavor. When we see that
Emily does many of her mother's chores, we may presume that mother is a harsh task-
master. We would think, "She needs to do her own housework and let the child be a
child." If "I Stand Here Ironing" were written from another point of view, we would not
understand the circumstances. The theme may become "Despite bad parents and bad
circumstances a child can make something of himself."
I feel that the Tillie Olsen chose
her mother (narrator) saw her. Through her reverie, we feel the mother's pain that her
daughter felt ugly as a child. We ache with the knowledge that she had to send Emily to
the daycare with the "evil teacher" and to a convalescent home when she was
desperately ill. We feel her regrets that she couldn't be there with Emily as she was
growing because she was working too hard to keep the family together. When Emily is in
high school we are proud with the mother that Emily is performing on stage - and people
love her. We, too, are relieved when Emily "runs up the stairs two at a time with her
light graceful step." She has gone from a shy, awkward girl to a beautiful, confident,
graceful woman. We sense the mother's resolve that Emily will be okay: "Why were you
concerned? She will find her way." And, with the mother, we are at peace.
By using the first person narrator style, the author gives us only one point of view. She
plainly states her theme for this hard-luck story: "We were poor and could not afford for
her [Emily] the soil of easy growth. Let her be. So all that is in her will not bloom - but
in how many does it?" Had the story been told from another point of view, say as a third
person, we may have thought that the mother was neglectful, or favored the younger
children. When we discover that the mother only smiled at the younger children, we may
think that the mother didn't like Emily. Concern has become disfavor. When we see that
Emily does many of her mother's chores, we may presume that mother is a harsh task-
master. We would think, "She needs to do her own housework and let the child be a
child." If "I Stand Here Ironing" were written from another point of view, we would not
understand the circumstances. The theme may become "Despite bad parents and bad
circumstances a child can make something of himself."
I feel that the Tillie Olsen chose