Tell Me a Riddle is a collection of four short stories written by Tillie Olsen, and first published in 1961. The stories, "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, What Ship?," "O Yes," and "Tell Me a Riddle," deal with issues of individuality, social pressures and changes, conformity, feminism, motherhood, and racism. Throughout the text, Olsen gives a voice to the voiceless and offers a view of marginalized stereotypes as complex individuals. Both “I Stand Here Ironing” and “Tell Me a Riddle” were included in Best American Short Stories the year they were first published, and “Tell Me a Riddle” won the O. Henry Award in 1961.
"I Stand Here Ironing" is a narration told from the perspective...
