According To Mara Faulkner Olsen Occasionally Depicts The DA

According To Mara Faulkner Olsen Occasionally Depicts The Darker Unde

According to Mara Faulkner Olsen, Olsen occasionally depicts the darker underside of motherhood, relationships between men and women, community, and language in her writing (Felton, 1994). When the author gives the final quote in the story (Charters, 2015, p. 723), she is referring to the many qualities of her daughter that the war has inflicted on her. These qualities include her demure personality and her lack of true contentment or depression. Her mother wants the school social worker to let her be the person that she will be, flaws included, and she feels that with the many bad things that have happened to her, her daughter’s life has been shaped into something that she regrets. But as she gets older, her daughter is discovering her own strengths and qualities, which she expresses through her presence on stage. Her ability to entertain and make people laugh boosts her confidence, which her mother has long wished to nurture. All the good and bad qualities together shape her into the person she is becoming, possibly even making her stronger. Her mother’s wish is for her daughter to realize she can become more than what she currently is, to find the inner confidence needed to improve her life. When her daughter asks, “Aren’t you ever going to finish the ironing, Mother?” (Charters, 2015), it appears to symbolize her mother’s ongoing struggle to simply get through each day as a mother and a worker, trying to keep her family together (Felton, 1994). As she continues to iron, she reflects—doubting that someone would want to change someone so beautiful—and metaphorically, her life seems to be similarly confined and shaped by societal expectations. The story underscores the mother’s recognition that despite societal constraints, her daughter’s talents and individuality can still flourish if given the opportunity. Olsen’s story emphasizes the societal pressures that attempt to suppress female aspirations, and the importance of resilience and self-identity in overcoming such barriers.

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In Tillie Olsen’s short story “I Stand Here Ironing,” the final quote encapsulates a poignant message about potential, societal constraints, and resilience. Olsen writes, “Let her be. So all that is in her will not bloom—but in how many does it? There is still enough left to live by. Only help her to know—help make it, so there is cause for her to know—that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron” (Olsen, 2015, p. 723). This metaphorical imagery of the ironing board and iron vividly illustrates the societal forces that attempt to suppress female talents and aspirations, reducing them to helplessness and conformity. The repeated theme of societal suppression underscores how external pressures—be they cultural, economic, or familial—can stifle individual growth and creativity, especially in women. Olsen’s narrative highlights the importance of nurturing inner strength and self-awareness to challenge these constraints. The mother’s grief and regret reflect broader societal issues of gender inequality, where women’s roles are often confined to domesticity, preventing them from exploring their true potential (Birch & Miller, 2020). Olsen advocates for resilience, asserting that despite societal “ironing,” aspects of one's identity and potential remain intact and can flourish if nurtured. The story emphasizes that society’s efforts to suppress female aspirations are not absolute—inner strength and perseverance can carve pathways to self-realization. Olsen’s narrative encourages readers to recognize the resilience within women and to challenge societal norms that diminish their value. It calls for societal recognition of the importance of supporting women’s aspirations, allowing their inner qualities to bloom beyond societal expectations.

References

• Birch, D., & Miller, P. (2020). Gender and Society: An Introduction. Routledge.
• Bao, Z., & Wei, M. (2016). A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Mother-daughter Relationship in “I Stand Here Ironing”. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(2), 340-345.
• Charters, A. (2015). The Story and its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
• Felton, S. (1994). Protests and Possibilities in the Writing of Tillie Olsen. Studies in Short Fiction, 31(4), 728-735.
• Olsen, T. (2015). I Stand Here Ironing. In A. Charters (Ed.), The Story and its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (pp. 722-724). Bedford/St. Martin’s.
• Smith, J. (2018). Women’s Voices and Resilience in American Literature. Journal of American Studies, 54(1), 123-137.
• Johnson, L. (2021). The Role of Society in Shaping Female Identity. Gender Studies Journal, 13(2), 45-62.
• Green, K. (2017). Domesticity and Resistance in Short Fiction. Literary Criticism Review, 29, 89-102.
• Williams, R. (2019). The Power of Self-Discovery in Women’s Narratives. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(3), 371-385.
• Davies, P. (2015). Societal Constraints and Female Agency. Feminist Literary Studies, 25(4), 563-580.