Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was an anarchist that practiced free love and used her strong oratory skis to spread her ideas about marriage, sexual freedom, and free speech. Goldman’s name is outlined with black ink that doesn’t follow the lines in some places to illustrate that Goldman herself did not always stay in line and as a result, was not well-liked by some. Along with the traditional utensils is a pen to represent that Goldman utilized her written communication skills to influence large audiences. The background of the placemat is a newspaper to represent that Goldman advocated free speech, especially with her published journal, Mother Earth. Across the top of the placemat is a gold chain that symbolizes a couple things; first it symbolizes the time when Goldman chained herself to a lectern during a free speech rally so that she couldn’t be arrested. While she was not arrested during that rally, Goldman was arrested multiple times for speaking freely to the public about issues that were deemed as inappropriate and illegal, such as: birth control, prostitution, women’s rights, and free love. Secondly, the gold chain illustrates Goldman’s belief that marriage requires women to give up their freedom for the economic stability a man offered when married. The chain is symbolic of restraint and female oppression due to economic and marital control. The plate used on the placemat was once white, to symbolize the purity that society expected from women, but it was then painted red to symbolize the love, passion, and sexual expression that Goldman advocated for. Goldman’s ideas regarding “free love,” angered a lot of people who had traditional views regarding marriage and female suppression of sexual desires. On the plate is a money salad that symbolizes the influence that money has on women’s lives. Not only do women marry for economic safety, Goldman believed that women were trafficked into prostitution because sex was one of the few ways that women could gain power and control in the male-dominated society, and the immorality of prostitution is ignored because it benefits the economy and allows men to act on their sexual desires.