I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it.

After decades of obscurity Goldman's iconic status was revived in the 1970s when feminist and anarchist scholars rekindled popular interest in her life. Attracted to anarchism after the Haymarket affair Goldman became a writer and a renowned lecturer on anarchist philosophy women's rights and social issues attracting crowds of thousands. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War Emma Goldman traveled to Spain to support the anarchist revolution there.