I Stand Here Ironing

There is a feeling a sadness that I get after reading this story. It is practically dripping with guilt. Yet, even though throughout the whole story she is telling about all the things she did wrong, I wonder if the mother really tries to make it up to Emily. She is so distracted by the other children in the house and all the million things she must do in a day that she seems to forget to really give Emily her attention. Even after she flashbacks to the beginning and realizes what all happened all those years, she doesn't seem to make a huge effort to change things. She knows what she should do, and she does maybe do it to an extent, but in the end Emily will still be the oldest of a large family and one who does smile much. She will always be the "outcast", in a way because the dad in the house isn't her real father. And I wonder if the mother ever really sat down with Emily and explained why things turned out the way things did. Or was she to busy ironing?