Motherhood In The Yellow Wallpaper And I Stand Here Ironing

The concept of motherhood and the role of women have existed since the beginning of time and throughout various points it has differ. There is no limit to what can be considered motherhood. To one person, motherhood might mean the act of raising children and taking care of their family, and to another; motherhood might be what defines them as a person. This is seen in Tillie Olsen’s short story “I Stand Here Ironing” and the “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In both stories, the main characters were dealing with the struggles of motherhood and being a wife. The main character in the story, “I Stand Here Ironing” was a single, working mother raising five children at the time. She was caring and providing for her children, while back then it was a man’s job to do so. The main character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was suffering from depression after having her baby. She felt as if she could not care for her newborn as she is supposed to, so it brought her into a deep depression. The short stories, “I Stand Here Ironing” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” are both stories told by women who felt that their responsibilities as a mother were

Both stories have common situations about the mothers portrayed in the stories. In both stories, the main characters had to deal with abandonment in some form. As seen in the story “I Stand Here Ironing”, the narrator’s husband left and caused her to play both roles of being a mother and a father to her children. Therefore, the relationship between her and her daughter isn’t as strong as it should be and the narrator feels guilty about it. The main character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” blames her husband for her depression. Her husband isolated her from others and her child, which caused her condition to worsen because she felt that she couldn’t care for her family as she