Most psychologists would agree that what has occurred in someone's past, or childhood, can have an astounding effect on how they react to certain situations as an adult. This type of analysis can be used to understand why the narrator (Emily's mother) feels the way she does about Emily's upbringing and her potential. The fact that her mother, the narrator, felt so attached to her daughter, Emily, makes me feel that the two had some sort of connection within each of their respected childhoods. It almost appears as if the narrator wants us to feel that connection by expressing her emotions so vividly and with such animation that you are

A psychologist might also examine Emily's childhood to try and understand what affect it has on her today, and why she needs the help that she does. By the age of eighteen the narrator had married, had a child, been deserted by Emily's father, and forced into a succession of menial jobs forcing her to thwart the child's need for security and affection. There is the sour smell of poverty. There is a strong sense of being trapped, of being helpless. One is aware that the economic plight of the parent is stunting the child's development. A sense of guilt (remembering the "clogged weeping" of a child abandoned during the day by her working mother) struggles with the sense of having done the best under the circumstances. I feel that Emily could sense this feeling of "entrapment." Ironically, the well-meaning teacher and old man are of no real help, any more than the irresponsible absconding father. The mother is bitter toward institutions that are insensitive to the real needs of those they serve. The mother calls nursery schools "parking places for children" where they suffer "the fatigue of the long day, and the laceration of group life." Emily always had a reason to stay home. She felt deserted; yet, she yearned for the love and attention that her mother could not give, due to their financial situation.

The convalescent home is superficially in good order, with well-tended grounds, children wearing bright bows, and "sleek young women" from the society pages holding festive fund-raisers. However, the reality behind the facade is that of a prison: Rules are rigidly enforced. Children see their parents from a high balcony; they are allowed no personal belongings (not even letters); the poor food makes them lose weight. Emily changes radically there: "I used to try to hold and love her after she came back, but her body would stay stiff, and after a while she'd push away.... Food sickened her, and I think much of life too." The schools Emily attends later reward "the glib and quick," and since Emily is neither, the "overworked and exasperated" teachers label her as a "slow learner."

Emily was "thin

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tillie Olson, Shirley Temple, Emily Emily, Helpless Iron, little girl supposed, women's roles, short story, little girl, helpless iron, women role, shirley temple, slow learner, childhood feels, story based, perspective story,
Approximate Word count = 1427
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)