loveless life overcome

I Stand Here Ironing is the story of a young girl, Emily, as she grows up, through the eyes of her mother.

Who is Emily?
Why is it that her mother thinks about her while she is ironing?
Does the environment a child grows up in effect their lives once they grow older?

I really liked the story I Stand Here Ironing. I feel the underlying theme is the depression of Emily. Emily didn’t grow up with her mother around to show her that she loved her, so she grew up stiff. When she was sent away to school, where she ‘wasn’t allowed to love’ she began to shut out emotion. When her mother tried to show her compassion, she would pull away. Because her mother was never able to be there to show her what love was, she was never able to experience it or reciprocate it. Her depression affects her life and she begins to lose weight and is always put off to the side. Once she was finally able to be home with her mother, her mother needed her to grow up quickly and be another mother. She was never given the opportunity to know the love from her mother or to be a child. When she finds that she is good at impressions and stories, and finds her place, she finally experiences happiness. She was able to overcome everything that she went through as a child to become a happy human being who is able to communicate her feelings. Because of this she is able to understand that her mother never wanted to hurt her, and can forgive her. Her mother is upset that she had to put her daughter through all of it, but is happy in the end when Emily finds her place.