I do believe that the writer is a reliable narrator. Based on the paragraph on page 281 which gives us a bit of history on Tillie Olsen, I believe Olsen has a very good understanding about relationships between mothers and daughters and the difficulties on family life due to financial strain.
I think the narrator shares what she does because she is trying to tell us that while she is Emily's mother she does not truly know or understand her. She was a single teenage mother raising Emily during a time of great financial hardship and when she found herself unable to properly care for Emily she sent her away to be with her fathers family only to have her return as a stranger. Emily was forced to grow up quickly to help her mother care for her younger siblings. She was sent away to a convalescent home after her mother had Susan and while there she was not given the love and care that a child needs. I believe that the narrator is trying to tell us that Emily was just another victim of the time that she was born in. She loves Emily very much but she feels she made mistakes she made with Emily that she did not make with her other children. She would like for Emily to depend on her more than she does but because of the way Emily was raised, she is able to care for herself and doesn't seem to want help or affection from her mother.
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Lorena, I agree with most all you say; single teenage mother; great financial hardship; sending Emily away to the fathers family. I think the mother understands and knows her daugther like most parents know there children, and just like children when they are in those teenage years they know it all and will not listen to reason or there parents. I know, I have been through it. I think now the mother realizes this and it is the last lesson the mother must learn, to wait now for Emily to come back to her.
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