"I stand Here iorning" by Tillie Olsen

While reading I stand here ironing, it is obvious that the narrator fells responsible for some of the behaviors that her daughter displays. She correlates her actions with the hardships her daughter possesses.
At a young age, the mother is forced to send her daughter away to her father’s family. This was the only decision that the mother could have made at that time. The mother struggled with this, as the age that Emily was send away is incredibly crucial for bonding between a mother and a child. It is never easy for a mother to leave a child, but in this case it was the only option to send her daughter away. The alternative would result in a hungry child with no child care.
The child in this story did not want to trouble her mother. It was her kind and good nature. Children learn to adapt, just as Emily did. While Emily was five, here sister was born. During her sister’s infant year the mother was so exhausted that she could not will her self to comfort Emily as she had night terrors, therefore as Emily grew she would call back to her mother “I’m all right, go back to sleep”(Olsen 285)
The guilt that the mother feels in this story is warranted, but she was doing what was best for her daughter. Society makes the life of a single mom’s live very difficult The narrator in the story made sure her daughter was fed and clothed, and sometimes that is the best that can be done.
Amanda Klepperich