Tillie Olson

 My Reflections on “As I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olson

                Tillie Olson’s “As I Stand Here Ironing” is a short story that tells of a woman recounting the childhood of her daughter named Emily. The mother seems to feel regret when talks of the mistakes made while raising baby Emily. This short story was told in narrative form and was a little hard to follow at first as the reader tries to figure out the speaker.

                The mother in this story felt as if she didn’t spend enough time with her daughter Emily. She felt that Emily was perfect when she was born. She even thought that baby Emily was the most beautiful of all her children. The mother character was described in such a way as if she wished she could go back in time to those days. Regret was the main feeling I got that the mother felt.

                Since the father left when Emily was born, the mother had to go to work. So, Emily had to go live with his family. This really bothered the mother. She felt Emily had changed so much when she returned to get her. That seems like it would be a nightmare for a mother. Many mothers have a hard time going to work when their babies are little. That time in the story seemed to be when the regret started.

                The mother had to also let Emily go live at a house when she was sick for treatment. Since her mother was so busy with the new baby, people felt this would be best for Emily. It didn’t seem like the mother cared as much about Emily at that time. Emily was just put aside again.

                Emily’s mother felt like many mistakes had been made. She knew that the time away from Emily had affected the person she had become.