Feminist Interpretations of Emma Goldman (review)

Feminist Interpretations of Emma Goldman, edited by Penny A. Weiss and Loretta Kensinger, is part of a series entitled Re-Reading the Canon, which consists of collections of feminist readings of “canonical texts of Western philosophy” (x). Weiss and Kensinger articulate the point of departure for this collection as a shift in Goldman scholarship: “In this volume we move away from Goldman’s life, so well documented in her autobiography as well as in the numerous biographies of her, and look instead at her contributions to social and political theory” (6). The collection considers Goldman’s philosophy, political and social theory, spirituality, feminism, and activism. It does so by examining Goldman’s own words in speeches and publications, her relationship to other theorists (both historical and more recent), and methods of bringing theory into practice. The collection is organized into three sections: “Specific Themes and Central Concerns,” “Historical Roots and Current Connections,” and “Political Change: Theory and Practice.”

Themes in Part One include considerations of Goldman’s beliefs about violence, free speech, child-rearing, individuality, love, religion, faith, sexuality, and revolution. In “Let Icons be Bygones! Emma Goldman: The Grand Expositor,” Candace Falk calls us to consider Goldman in her full complexity; more specifically, she argues that “the current challenge for Goldman scholars . . . [is] to reframe and incorporate revelations about Goldman’s intimate association with violence and to acknowledge the absolute centrality of anarchism to her political and social message” (65). Understanding Goldman’s emphasis on free speech is a crucial aspect of that social message. Lori Jo Marso’s essay, “A Feminist Search for Love,” explores the intersections of Goldman’s personal life with her political/philosophical ideologies of love, freedom, and intimacy. Marso also investigates what Goldman meant when she talked about “feminine desire.” Kathy E. Ferguson’s essay, “Religion, Faith, and Politics: Reading Goldman Through Nietzsche,” poses the question of whether Goldman’s anarchism offered a static replacement of authoritarian institutions like religion and government or something more mobile and fluctuating. Ferguson argues that over time Goldman espoused both, pointing to a confluence of ideals, social realities, and rhetorical device in Goldman’s developing political and social thought.

The essays in Part Two explore “Goldman’s place among political thinkers” such as Peter Kropotkin, Mary Wollstone-craft, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and bell hooks (10). They do so because “to take someone seriously as a political thinker requires that they be connected with other political theorists and schools of thought” (10). Jonathan McKenzie and Craig Stalbaum’s “Manufacturing Consensus: Goldman, Kropotkin, and the Order of an Anarchist Canon” is based on the question: “did the canon of political theory receive Goldman and Kropotkin differently on the basis of their gender?” (200). The authors answer yes to this question even as they explore more nuanced reasons for why Kropotkin tends to be valued more than Goldman (which might also have a basis in gender), including differences in their theories, differing rhetorical strategies, and the focus of their critiques. In “Emma Goldman and the Spirit of Artful Living,” Lynne M. Adrian argues that “Goldman developed, articulated, and helped popularize the aesthetic concept of ‘artful living’” (225). Artful living, she continues, is central to understanding Goldman’s philosophy as well as the philosophy of the classical American period. Alice Wexler explores Goldman’s 1911 lecture on Mary Wollstonecraft in “Emma Goldman on Mary Wollstonecraft,” arguing that this speech reveals much about the way Goldman understood her own role as a rebel, public figure, feminist, and activist.

Part Three links theory with practice. Here “the authors touch on ways to act on anarchist feminist principles. They are linked by the fact that all find some degree of inspiration in the political ideas and practices of Goldman” (13). This section includes an 1894 speech by Voltairine de Cleyre entitled “In Defense of Emma Goldman” that expounds on Goldman’s call for the poor to “take bread” if they are given none (302). De Cleyre uses this speech to praise...