I Stand Here Ironing

     From what I am able to gather, I Stand Here Ironing is a post WWII piece about a woman with a family, struggling in poverty. As we read on there is a focus on her first born child Emily. Emily is a victim of the times. Both politically and personally. Her first time mother can barely take care of herself let alone a new born and is forced into situations she would otherwise not have opted into. The mother looks back on the earlier years of her first born daughters life with a lot of regret but also realizes that there isn't a whole lot that she could have done differently. Her position as a mother and as a provider was out of her control.
     I can only guess that the person posing the question to the mother in the opening paragraph is some sort of doctor, psychologist, or therapist. This person is deeply interested in helping her daughter who this person claims needs help. It is quite possible that the mother herself is in therapy.
     One part that stood out was on the second half of page 5. The narrator tells us about times when Emily would call for her in the night. She claims to have been too exhausted to tend to her daughter who was suffering from nightmares. She used to insist that she was okay and tell her to go back to sleep. Years later the table had turned. Now that she wants to be there for Emily (whether it be out of guilt, regret, or less exhaustion) Emily shuts her out by saying, "No, I'm alright, go back to sleep, Mother."
     I also felt that the imagery in the closing paragraph was interesting. More specifically when she says, "...that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron." The iron could symbolize society and harsh realities of life burning its helpless victim...the public.