Many children feel like they don't have the constant love and support of their parents while growing up, even though their parents may be doing their best, they still allow it designed to influence the path they take in their future. Emily in "I Stand Here Ironing" appears to be one of these children. Emily's mother was a single mother who was struggling with financial problems, unemployment, and a recent divorce that put a strain on her life and prevented her from focusing on Emily and raising her properly. All this caused Emily to feel neglected and she began to distance herself more and more from her mother as she grew up. Once Emily gradually began to find herself, her mother gained a sliver of hope for Emily, however, it was already too late as Emily had moved too far away from her mother to go back now. Her mother believes that Emily's developmental delay was due to her being a young, distracted, and inexperienced mother. The story ends with the mother hoping that Emily will learn to find herself and allow her potential to be realized. The audience this story is aimed at could go in two directions, it could be for people who can't find themselves or don't believe they have reached their full potential, just to let them know they are not the only ones going through that struggle and it is still possible to come close to achieving that potential, regardless of the circumstances. On the other hand, it could also be intended for those individuals who are immensely self-aware and confident, simply to inform them that not everyone is like them and to be aware of the feelings of others as some may not live the same easy lifestyle. of self-awareness like them. In I Stand Here Ironing the author, Tillie Olsen, uses an emotional point of view from the mother's point of view, a subtle change in tone from apologetic to slightly more hopeful, and finally the use of iron as a symbol to represent hardship that derive from it. early motherhood is used to portray the guilt the mother feels for the way she raised Emily and for not allowing her past situations to influence her future. The story is composed of a collection of memories in chronological order regarding the events of Emily's life, all told through the point of view of the narrator, otherwise known as Emily's mother. The use of this perspective is to allow readers to emotionally connect with the mother and truly understand why she feels so sorry for her early maternal decisions, ultimately adding a more realistic feel to the story. At the beginning of the story, the narrator is asked to talk about his daughter Emily and her childhood. However, her mother states that if she started talking about Emily she would be immensely overwhelmed by the memories that would emerge, this is demonstrated when she states: "either I will be swallowed up by everything I have done or not done, by what I have done." it should have been and what cannot be avoided. She states that instead of feeling like a proud mother when talking about her daughter's upbringing, she feels more like she has not been fully successful as a mother, which has prevented her daughter from reaching her full potential. The author does this to show the difficulties her mother faced while raising Emily and how she regrets the methods she chose to raise her. The purpose is that it can send a message to other single mothers that they are not alone and even if they think their parenting skills are not the best, don't regret the past but instead improve the future. Say no.