Read Tillie Olsen’s short story “I Stand Here Ironing.” Link
Then read the Critical Context on the short story.
To start thinking of new angles to look at this short story, read chapters on Marxist and Feminist criticism. These two will be instrumental for your next essay. Pay particular attention to the list of questions to ask yourselves when re-reading the short story with the new scope in mind.
Answer one of the questions below:
- Olsen has a long history of political activism, and she was once jailed for trying to organize blue-collar workers to join a union. Explain how “I Stand Here Ironing” echoes Olsen’s leftist politics, even though it contains no overt political statements.
- What do you think Olsen believes is a more important influence in a person’s life—the role of nature, or the role of nurture? 3. Give some examples of Emily’s character traits that her mother thinks are due to nature and some she believes are due to nurture.
- Many psychologists believe that birth order influences personality. Research this idea and find out what some studies have found to be common traits among firstborn children. How is Emily’s behavior representative of oldest children, and how is it different?
- “I Stand Here Ironing” is set in the “pre-relief, pre-WPA world (par. 9). What did it mean in particular in the narrator’s and her daughter’s lives? What social, political, and economic changes have occurred since 1930s that had an impact on their lives?
- What does the physical description of the convalescent home (par. 28) add to the story?
- Explore the options each woman might reasonably exercise in order to break free of the limits that their historical setting imposes on them. What can they control?