In Tillie Olsen’s short story, “I Stand Here Ironing,” we learn of the troubles of a teenage girl through the narration of her mother. Emily, now 19, grew up in a less than perfect home, lacking the basic stability and attention that young children need to thrive. The fact that her childhood was lacking definitely affected young Emily in more ways than anyone really knows. After taking time to re-read the story through psychoanalytic lenses, it’s more obvious that the real problems stem from Emily’s mother, and the the fact that she’s living in denial and regression and constantly displaces her negative feelings onto her daughter.
Emily’s mother, who remains unnamed throughout the story, struggles with many internal demons of her own. She was a young mother, who wasn’t financially prepared to care for a child. So when her husband left, life was hard and that’s when the changes in Emily began to take off. Her mother wasn’t nearly as happy, and often had to find others to take care of Emily, not …show more content…
We learn through our parents, so what we grow up knowing is what we, in most cases, believe is right. Our superego leads situations like these, where we discuss the principles that we learn from our family. In this case, Emily grew up lacking support and love of all kinds, and that’s what caused her multitude of psychological issues. Her mother lived in denial, so Emily learned that that was the proper way to live, and instead of growing, and learning, Emily is constantly reliving old, painful memories. The issues that her mother faced on the daily, ended up plaguing Emily just as severely. But, Emily ended up with insecurity issues, self esteem problems, and a very prominent sibling rivalry. Emily ends up coping with her issues in the same way that her mother did, through denial and regression. Because no one knew how to cope properly, this is a cycle that seems to be never
Emily’s mother, who remains unnamed throughout the story, struggles with many internal demons of her own. She was a young mother, who wasn’t financially prepared to care for a child. So when her husband left, life was hard and that’s when the changes in Emily began to take off. Her mother wasn’t nearly as happy, and often had to find others to take care of Emily, not …show more content…
We learn through our parents, so what we grow up knowing is what we, in most cases, believe is right. Our superego leads situations like these, where we discuss the principles that we learn from our family. In this case, Emily grew up lacking support and love of all kinds, and that’s what caused her multitude of psychological issues. Her mother lived in denial, so Emily learned that that was the proper way to live, and instead of growing, and learning, Emily is constantly reliving old, painful memories. The issues that her mother faced on the daily, ended up plaguing Emily just as severely. But, Emily ended up with insecurity issues, self esteem problems, and a very prominent sibling rivalry. Emily ends up coping with her issues in the same way that her mother did, through denial and regression. Because no one knew how to cope properly, this is a cycle that seems to be never