Anthusser's notion of Interpellation and the Human Subject, with reference to Tillie Olsen's "I Stand Here Ironing".

Interpellation, according to Althusser, is a hailing by social ideologies that form 'individuals' into 'subjects' by forcing social identities upon them. This primarily occurs through Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA), including the family, education and mass media. It is through these ISA's that people are given both a sense of identity and an understanding of reality. Ideology, for Althusser 'represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence' (cited in Stevenson 1995: 37). Ideology transforms …

…the use of Ideological State Apparatuses and the fear of reprisal by State Apparatuses. It is through these ISA's that people are given both a sense of identity and an understanding of reality. In Tillie Olsen's short fiction story I Stand Here Ironing, the education and the family ISA affect both the mother and the child, and confer upon them ideologies that align with their social standings in the proletariat, or working class of society.