In "I Stand Here Ironing," the narrator (Emily's mother)
does not love her other children more, however, she is alone when Emily is a baby
because Emily's father left them before Emily was a year old. Emily's mother tried to do
all the things she felt were good for her daughter, but working to support the two of
them was difficult.
The mother became so concerned about
the woman who cared so little for her baby when Emily's mom worked during the day, that
Emily's mom got a job where she could be home with the baby in the daytime, though it
was hard for the mom.
Her mom tried to do what the doctors
of the day suggested was the best way to raise a baby, but this was her first baby.
Emily's mom married, and she found that after the birth of her second child, she had
learned better than to listen to what was "popular" in the circle of male doctors of the
day.
When she needed help to get on her feet financially,
Emily's mom had to send her to stay with Emily's father's family until she was two.
This was particularly hard on Emily, who came back a more serious little girl who did
not know her mother well.
When Emily's mother had Susan,
the second child, Emily became ill; she started to lose weight and have nightmares. The
clinic persuaded Emily's mother to send Emily to a convalescent home to recuperate, but
when she did not get well and did not regain the weight she lost when she had been sick,
the social worker allowed Emily's mother to bring her
home.
Emily's mother tried very hard with Emily, but
Emily's experiences as a child toughened her up too quickly, so she was distant and
didn't talk a lot. However, she did develop a sense of dramatic comedy, and won
audiences over when on stage in school. In this way she seemed to find herself, and
Emily's mother was grateful for this gift her daughter had found, especially because her
young childhood had not been easy for Emily.
With her other
children, Emily's mom now had a husband to support all of the kids, and had learned
better ways to bring up a child: after all, when children are born, they do not come
with directions.
Emily's mother, even to the end of the
story, is haunted by guilt in the choices she had to make so that
she and Emily could survive. Emily's mom loves Emily just as much as her other
children: perhaps even more because she feels that Emily had to do with less love as her
mother could not be around a lot, and with separations brought on by circumstances
beyond her mother's control.
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