SOURCE: "'Coming to Writing' Through the Impressionist Fiction of Tillie Olsen," in Midwestern Miscellany XXI, edited by David D. Anderson, Midwestern Press, 1993, pp. 57-67.

In the following essay, Wolfe compares "I Stand Here Ironing" with "Hey Sailor, What Ship?" as she explores Olsen's concept of universal hope.

Trying to define Tillie Olsen's "place" in the history of the short story is difficult, not only because of her comparatively small output, but also because she is "known and admired much more because of what she represents than because of what she has written." Olsen is best known for her insights (chronicled in Silences) into the difficulties—such as poverty, illness, family responsibilities, etc.—that block the way to success, especially in writing (and especially concerning women). She speaks of, and to, "the gifted among women (and men) [who] have remained mute, or have never attained full capacity … because of...