"I Stand Here Ironing": An Analysis

Paper Summary:

Paper analyzes Tillie Olsen's short story "I Stand Here Ironing." It focuses on the imagery of the story and on symbolism. The iron, the clothes, and the ironing board are symbolic for Emily at different stages of her life.

From the Paper:

"Imagery is the author's language describing a situation that would appeal to one or more of the five senses of the reader. In the short story "I Stand Here Ironing," author Tillie Olsen uses literal language to call up a mental picture in the readers' mind. In the last line of the story Emily's mother says, "Only help [Emily] to know that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron" (659). The image, ironing a dress, compares to actually raising a child. The dress represents the child, the iron is the child's parents and society, and the ironing board is their expectations. The theme this image conveys is that children grow up to become individuals as a result of their interaction with their parents and society, their experiences, and their own insight, not by simply being "ironed" into society's preconceived model."

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• Book Review # 119223 : "Tillie Olsen's Life and "I Stand Here Ironing"

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