I Stand Here Ironing

How does the stream-of-consciousness technique affect what Olsen includes in this story? Why do you think Olsen chose to employ this literary device?

Susan mostly fulfills the role of a foil. How does Susan’s behavior affect how the reader views Emily?

Olsen wrote persuasive essays about women’s rights in addition to short stories about women’s experiences. What “arguments” does she make in “I Stand Here Ironing”? How do the experiences of the characters in “I Stand Here Ironing” illustrate the difficulties of life for a single mother and her children?

How does Olsen critique the social programs and institutions that were available to the narrator and Emily? Who, according to the text, bears the guilt for Emily’s treatment at these institutions?

The narrator has five children. How is Emily’s childhood different from her siblings’? Why is that?

What does Emily’s talent for pantomime, imitation, and acting demonstrate about her life, her character, and her potential?

When Emily appears in the frame narrative “she is happy” (754). She makes several jokes and her mother thinks “She will find her way” (754). This runs counter to most of what the narrator has shared about Emily thus far. What is the significance of the way the story ends?

Figurative language and imagery play a key role in the text. Find three examples of imagery and/or figurative language and explicate the role each quote plays in establishing the narrator’s guilt.