Ragtime

Tateh invites Evelyn to attend a meeting with the Socialist Artists’ Alliance of the Lower East Side. Prominent anarchist thinker Emma Goldman is the speaker for the event. Goldman argues that marriage is a form of domestic servitude in which women are expected to provide sexual pleasure to their husbands whether they want to or not. She cites Evelyn as the prime example of how marriage is akin to prostitution. The crowd of mostly men boo and jeer, attracting police attention. The arrival of the police triggers mass hysteria. Tateh, disgusted at Evelyn for being drawn into Goldman’s anti-marriage speech, flees and leaves Evelyn behind.

Evelyn panics, not knowing what to do. Goldman brings Evelyn to a boarding house, and the two women rest in a private room. Mother’s Younger Brother, having followed Evelyn all day, sneaks into the boarding house as well. When Goldman fetches a basin of water, Mother’s Younger Brother sneaks into Evelyn’s room and hides in the closet without her knowing. Goldman lectures Evelyn on gender relations and marriage, urging Evelyn to see her loveless marriage as a form of servitude. Evelyn admits that she hates her husband.