Mother-Daughter Relationships Essay

578 Words3 Pages
Mother-Daughter Relationships A mother-daughter relationship can take many forms. Some women experience closeness with their mothers, and other find distance. In Olsen’s “I stand her ironing.” Emily is not close to her mother; whereas, in walker’s “Everyday Use,” Maggie and her mother are inseparable. Both mothers care about their daughters extensively. It is other factors such as age and location that contribute to the relationship and determine the level of closeness. Emily’s lack of emotion towards her mother can be attributed to a number of issues in her youth. Since Emily was born, her mother had been working diligently to support the family. To make matters worse, she was only nineteen when Emily was born. Her husband left early on in Emily’s life and her mother was forced to leave her with friends or send her to day care. “…and I did not know then what I know now- the fatigue of the long day, and the lacerations of group life in the kinds of nurseries that are only parking places for children” (Olsen 707). Emily got nowhere near the amount of attention she needed. Maggie, on the other hand, was always with her mother. Maggie’s mother was also older and better suited to be a mother because she was older and more experienced however, Maggie’s father also left the family. Maggie turned out to be shy and refrained from social life since she did not leave the house after being burned. “She stoops down quickly and lines up picture after picture of me sitting in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me” (Walker 746). Too much attention leads to Maggie clinging to her mother and not enough attention drives Emily to not seek out a close relationship with her mother. Both mothers are concerned with the status of their daughters. Maggie is intended to be married off eventually, so her mother can enjoy retirement; however, there are concerns of
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