A good example of Modernism is a short story called “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen. This story not only portrays gender roles but also family roles. Here the narrator is a mother giving the reader a glimpse into her life, choices she made as a mother, and being a single parent. Through her defense of her situation, she exposes to the reader the underlying insecurities that riddle her mind about her mothering. The …showed first 75 words of 665 total…

…showed last 75 words of 665 total…s determination was to get her child back and be the traditional mother. She accomplishes her goal by marring. The story suggests a family needs a husband because that is the only difference from then and now. The woman ironing believes that now she is back on life’s track and can do her job as a mother. Her role suggests that she accomplished this as long as she has a husband in her life.