Short Story I Stand Here Ironing
Jude Mardigras
Mr. Gilchrist
English 1102
16 April 2023
The Use of The Third Pronoun, SHE, In the Short Story "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen
Tillie Olsen's Short Story, "I Stand Here Ironing," tells the story of a mother's reflections on her struggles in raising her firstborn daughter in a patriarchal society. The story is set during the 1950s, a time when the role of women in society was limited and the feminist movement was gaining momentum. Using the third-person pronoun "she," Olsen provides a powerful tool to highlight the mother's struggles and the impact of societal pressures on her experiences. This paper will explore how the use of "She" in the Story is an effective
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The daughter's life is marked by poverty, illness, and a lack of opportunities. The mother recognizes these circumstances' impact on her daughter's life and feels a sense of guilt and regret for not being able to do more for her. The story is set in the mid-twentieth century when women were expected to fulfill the traditional gender roles of wife and mother. Single mothers were stigmatized and viewed as a failure for not conforming to these gender roles. This societal norm resulted in economic and social discrimination against single mothers, making it even more challenging for them to raise their children. The mother in the story is a single mother who had to leave her daughter in daycare as an infant while she worked to support them. The mother's absence significantly impacted her daughter's life, as she struggled with emotional and behavioral issues. The narrator states, "Her father left me before she was a year old" (Olsen, 2014). The mother ironing is a metaphor for the constant struggle to make ends meet and raise a child alone. The mother is ironing Emily's clothes, symbolizing her attempts to iron out the difficulties and challenges she faced in raising her daughter. The mother's reflection on Emily's childhood shows the impact of societal norms on women's lives and the difficulties single mothers face. The …show more content…
"A Summary and Analysis of Tillie Olsen's 'I Stand Here Ironing.'" Interesting Literature, 6 Mar. 2023, https://interestingliterature.com/2023/03/tillie-olsen-i-stand-here-ironing-summary-analysis/.
"I Stand Here Ironing." Encyclopedia.com, https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/i-stand-here-ironing. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.
Mambrol, Nasrullah. "Analysis of Tillie Olsen's I Stand Here Ironing." Literary Theory and Criticism, 26 May 2021, https://literariness.org/2021/05/26/analysis-of-tillie-olsens-i-stand-here-ironing/.
Olsen, Tillie. "I Stand Here Ironing." Jerrywbrown.com, https://jerrywbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/I-Stand-Here-Ironing-by-Tillie-Olsen.pdf. Accessed 24 Mar.
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