How Emma Goldman changed Evelyn Nesbit
E.L. Doctorow incorporates both historical and fictional characters in his book Ragtime. One of the two historical figures that he describes in Ragtime is Evelyn Nesbit and Emma Goldman. Emma is known to basically say everything that she believes. When she meets Evelyn, she tells her the truth, and that makes Evelyn rethink her life. Evelyn's transformation didn’t really stick, though. In Ragtime, Doctorow uses Emma to describe Evelyn’s change. He describes Evelyn before Emma and Evelyn after Emma Before Evelyn met Emma, she was a completely different person. She was much more sheltered and dependent on others. Her dependency can be shown when she first meets Tateh and the little girl. From the first minute, Evelyn feels an instant connection to them. By inserting herself into Tateh and the little girl's life, Evelyn is escaping what is going on in her life with the Harry Thaw trial. Doctorow describes Evelyn attaching herself to Tateh and his daughter as “She...