Blog #2
In the “Platform for Action� a main objective is mentioned to “…Review, adopt and maintain macroeconomics policies and development strategies that address the needs and efforts of women in poverty.� These kinds of “safety nets� (as Brianna referred to them in her blog) could have helped Emily’s mother (in “I Stand Here Ironing� by Tillie Olson) keep Emily home, closer to her side during her hardest times instead of sending her to the in-laws. A secure job, wages, or even welfare would have helped keep Emily home with her mother, not alienated with her “ex-grandparents.� And, when Emily was at her worst—starving, stubborn, and going through obvious hardship, mentally and physically—they sent her away to a convalescent home, where she was alienated from her nurturing mother yet again. Emily needed motherly love, not “expert� or outsider assistance; she needed a mother supported by governmental policies (like employment schemes, child care assistance, and other such related topics) so that mother had time and money to encourage, talk to, and assist her with personal barriers (such as the ditching father and being a dark, thin girl in an era of plump, blonde, pale beauty). The narrator/mother in Tillie Olson’s story could have related to her daughter earlier and tried to help her during Emily’s worst times if she had outside support and a public safety net to rely on. Emily needed support directly from her family, which could have been possible if only her mother/family (also the narrator) had a little assistance from government programs we now have today.