Time and Guilt

A detailed Summary of Time and Guilt


In Tillie Olsen's narrative "I Stand Here

Ironing," I interpreted that there was a reflection of

the loss of time and the sense of guilt between a

mother and daughter. This is displayed in the authors

word choice, point of view, imagery and tone.

Olsen begins her narrative while ironing and

talking on the phone. Her daughter needs help, she is

told. So she begins to ask herself a million questions.

She wonders why her daughter needs help, how she can

help her, and what she could have done to prevent her

from straying so far in the first place. As these

questions run through her mind the iron in her hand

moves swiftly back and forth in rhythm, throughout the

entire narrative. Ironing being an act of boredom.

With each movement she has a new thought regarding her

daughter; she questions how she could have raised her

In this essay one senses Emily's resentment toward

her mother. This is because of the way in which she had

been treated, for it is clearly obvious that Emily was

unknowingly denied the love and attention a normal

child would receive. What is odd though is that

throughout the narrative one can feel the love Olsen


during so many key points in her life. First, she had

Tillie Olsen writes a great story about raising

Olsen says her husband "could no longer endure

expectations for her daughter? Does that not constitute

Stand Here Ironing" is about the need for time and the

stability, and that is a major factor in allowing her



Some common words found in the essay are:
Stand Ironing, Tillie Olsen, Whatever Emily, Olsen Emily, Tillie Olsen's, word choice, mother daughter, normal life, throughout story, guilt mother daughter, lead normal life, narrative ironing, raising daughter, olsen begins, love olsen, daughter help, expectations daughter,

Approximate Word count = 857
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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