“I Stand Here Ironing”

“I Stand Here Ironing” is a monologue about a mother’s regrets about her daughter, Emily, and why she is now having problems in school.

Level 1 – Where was Emily sent when she was younger?
Level 2 – Do your parents have an actual handle of what your life is like?
Level 3 – Do you think a man could relate to this story as well as women could? Explain.

I found this short story to be my favorite reading so far because of the way it was presented. It begins in present tense and then moves into the past, when Emily was born and the mother was only 19. What’s interesting about that is that Emily is now 19 and I thought that tied the story in nicely. Also, when I was reading this I sort of envisioned a scene in a movie. I saw the conversation the mother was having and then flash backs of certain scenes, like the daycare or when Emily is waiting for her mom to return, with the author speaking in-between. In the short story the line between the author and the narrator is blurred in a way that it all ties together and flows nicely.

Going to the story itself, I actually felt really sad for the mother. She is talking to the school administrator, or a counselor of some sort, of how she has failed as a mother and that is why her child is having so many problems in school. Emily was sent to boarding school when she was very young, and so a strong relationship between them was never formed. Emily’s mother never was responsible for Emily’s upbringing, it was always the babysitter, or the daycare center, or the boarding school. Emily had to learn to take care of herself and I think her mother regrets that.