This article explores the life and work of Emma Goldman to formulate a radical critique of intimacy. Goldman’s theory of sexual freedom and revolutionary love offers a feminist vision that challenges contemporary debates concerning uses of the language of feminine desire. Goldman appealed to ideals of feminine instinct and feminine desire in order to challenge the conventional meanings attached to femininity in her day. Her views on marriage, love, sexuality and the feminine are analysed alongside her writings on her own personal experience, in order to illuminate the continuing paradoxes feminists face in regard to definitions and experiencesof femininity.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ackelsberg, M. (1991) Free Women of Spain: Anarchism and the Strugglefor the Emancipation of Women. Bloomington: Indiana University Press .
2.
Berlant, L. (2000) ‘Intimacy: A Special Issue’, pp. 1–9 in L. Berlant Intimacy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
3.
Cook, B. Weisen (1977) ‘Female Support Networks and Political Activism:Lillian Wald, Crystal Eastman, Emma Goldman’ , Chrysalis3: 43–61 .
4.
Cornell, D. (1998) At the Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex, and Equality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press .
5.
Du Bois, E. and L. Gordon (1983) ‘Danger and Pleasure in Nineteenth CenturyFeminist Sexual Thought’ , Feminist Studies9(1): 7–25 .
6.
Evans, S. (1997) Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America. New York:Free Press .
7.
Falk, C. (1990) Love, Anarchy, and Emma Goldman: A Biography. NewBrunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press .
8.
Ferguson, A. (1995) ‘Feminist Communities and Moral Revolution’, pp. 367–397 in P. Weiss (ed.) Feminism and Community. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press .
9.
Goldman, E. (1970 [1923]) My Disillusionment in Russia. New York:ThomasCrowell .
10.
Goldman, E. (1969a) ‘The Tragedy of Women’s Emancipation’, pp. 211–225 inE. Goldman Anarchism and Other Essays. New York: Dover .
11.
Goldman, E. (1969b) ‘Anarchism: What it Really Stands for’, pp. 47–67 inE. Goldman Anarchism and Other Essays. New York: Dover .
12.
Goldman, E. (1969c) ‘Marriage and Love’, pp. 227–239 in E. Goldman Anarchism and Other Essays. New York: Dover .
13.
Goldman, E. (1969d) ‘Woman Suffrage’, pp. 195–211 in E. Goldman Anarchism and Other Essays. New York: Dover .
14.
Goldman, E. (1969e) ‘The Drama: A Powerful Disseminator of RadicalThought’, pp. 241–271 in E. Goldman Anarchism and Other Essays. New York: Dover .
15.
Goldman, E. (1970a) Living My Life, Volume I. New York: Dover .
16.
Goldman, E. (1970b) Living My Life, Volume II. New York: Dover .
17.
Goldman, E. (1975) in R. and A. Drinnon (eds) Nowhere at Home: Letters fromExile of Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. New York: Schocken Books .
18.
Goldman, E. (1981) ‘Mary Wollstonecraft, Her Tragic Life and Her PassionateStruggle for Freedom’ , Feminist Studies7(1): 112–333 .
19.
Goldman, E. (1987) The Social Significance of Modern Drama. London:Applause Theatre Books .
20.
Goldman, E. (1998) ‘Jealousy: Causes and a Possible Cure’, pp. 214–221 inA. Kates Shulman (ed.) Red Emma Speaks: An Emma Goldman Reader. Amherst, MA: Humanity Books .
21.
Goldman, E. (2001) ‘Letters to Ben Reitman, 1909–1919’, pp. 97–101 inS. Ostrov Weisser (ed.) Women and Romance: A Reader. New York: New York University Press .
22.
Jackson, S. (2001) ‘Love and Romance as Objects of Feminist Knowledge’, pp. 254–264 in S. Ostrov Weisser (ed.) Women and Romance: A Reader. New York: New York University Press .
23.
Katz, J. (1992) ‘Almeda Sperry to Emma Goldman: Letters’, pp. 523–529 inJ. Katz Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the USA. New York: Penguin .
24.
Kollantai, A. (1972) ‘Sexual Relations and the Class Struggle’ and ‘Love and the New Morality’ (trans. and intro. Alix HoltMontpelier). Bristol: Falling Wall Press .
Rossi, A. (1995) ‘A Feminist Friendship: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and SusanB. Anthony’, pp. 45–60 in M.S. Wheeler (ed.) One Woman, One Vote. Troutdale, OR: NewSage Press .
27.
Trimberger, E. (1983) ‘Feminism, Men, and Modern Love: Greenwich Village,1900–1925’, pp. 131–152 in A. Snitow, C. Stansell and S. Thompson (eds) Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality. New York: Monthly Review Press .
28.
Ware, S. (2002) Modern American Women: A Documentary History of NewYork. New York: McGraw Hill .
29.
Wexler, A. (1981) ‘Afterword’ , Feminist Studies7(1).
30.
Wheeler, M., ed. (1995) One Woman, One Vote: Rediscovering the Woman Suffrage Movement. Troutdale, OR: NewSage Press .
31.
Wollstonecraft, M. (1979) ‘Letter to Gilbert Imlay, December 1794’, pp. 272–273 in R. Wardle (ed.) Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft. Ithaca: Cornell University Press .
