Tillie Olsen's short story "I Stand Here Ironing" recounts a poor working woman's ambivalence about her parenting skills and her eldest daughter's future. It asks the question: What is the cause of Emily's troubled life?
             The narrator of this story is a middle-aged mother of five and is the type of woman whose story was seldom heard during the 50's: that of a working class mother who must hold down a job and care for children at the same time. The father wrote in his good-bye note that he "could no longer endure" "sharing want with us". This would become the start of Emily's troubles, for the mother is now faced with having to be the sole bread winner and parent. In order to keep her daughter with her, the mother is forced to leave Emily with uncaring caregivers, to send her to live with relatives and to stay in a hospital that only worsens her condition. Emily is essentially passed from one bad situation to another. Emily's life can be compared to the iron in this story, continuously "moving back and forth".
             Because the mother is always at work or "ironing", she is distracted and does not give Emily the attention that she needs. This in effect caused Emily to become very self conscience during her adolescent years. "She fretted about her appearance, thin and dark and foreign looking..." (Par 35) and "She was not glib or quick..." (Par 37)
             The mother remarries and new complications arise. The mother is now confronted with the demands of other children so Emily is distanced even further. The other children seemed to be put first as shown in paragraphs 23, 26, and 44. "There were four smaller ones now, there was not a time for her".
             Even though the mother loves Emily, she has also helped contribute to her problems. She has unintentionally deprived her of stability, closeness and affection, ultimately turni...