Question

Do you think Emily's mother in i stand here ironing is a reliable narrator?

Answer 1

"I Stand Here Ironing" is a short story, it was written by Tillie Olsen. The story was published in her short story collection, Tell Me a Riddle in 1961. The point of view is, The story is told from a mothers first person point of view. The narrator is, a remarried mother with five children. She remembers the way she parented her first child, Emily.. Her thoughts in the story, are about what she would have done differently while parenting Emily if she had been more experienced and had better options. It is one of Olsen's most anthologized works.

Answer 2

Answer: I think Emily's mother is an unreliable narrator.

Explanation: I do not think that Emily's mother is a reliable narrator because she is speaking in a subjective way. She is a first person narrator who tells a personal story and keeps on questioning herself about the way she brought her daughter up.

I do not say she is unreliable because she is lying. In fact, I think she tells the true about her feelings. However, I believe that the way she narrates the story makes it unreliable, because she gives the reader the opportunity to stop to think and have their own conclusions.