"I Stand Here Ironing"

In a short story, the author does not get a chance to really articulate all the characters. Rarely do they get a chance to let the readers know everything all the characters are feeling. The author tends to privilege the main characters point of view. In the short story, “I Stand Here Ironing”, the author only conveys the feelings of the main character, the mother. Tillie Olsen shares her own experience, and as a result can only put across what she was feeling through this time. She is unable to tell what her daughter, Emily, is thinking and can only speculate. Tillie Olsen expresses her feelings about what she did wrong in raising her child, how her daughter did not have the best childhood, and how it could have been different if things were better. The author feels bad for her daughter, but does not know...