I will first discuss Margaret because she is actually an multi-dynamic character in representing the people on the 20s. She is an immigrant from Ireland. In the show, she evens has kept her Irish accent and represents the boom in Immigration during that time. I will later be posting a blog on immigration so I will go on about her then.
More importantly about Ms. Schroeder is that she is introduced to the show as a front speaker for the Women's Temperance League, talking about how alcohol is a root of all evil and introduces their guest speaker, country treasurer, Nucky Thompson. The Women's Temperance League was a prime supporter of the Prohibition Movement and despite Nucky's real business, his political face supported Prohibition and commonly spoke at anti- alcohol meetings such as this. Nucky talks about his broken past with his father's battle of alcoholism and Margaret sparks a bond with him for her personal reasons of being so against drinking. Upon coming to America, Margaret met and married her husband, but quickly found herself in a very controlling, abusive marriage because of the alcoholism that is her husband. Long story short, Margaret gets close with Nucky and he starts to financially support her. Nucky eventually has Margaret's abusive husband killed in worry of Margaret and her children's safety. After her husband is killed, a domestic partnership starts between Nucky and Margaret and she starts to find out who Nucky really is. This "hit" follows Nucky and is what eventually sparks the feds to start investigating his actions.
Before the whirlwind of her relationship with Nucky and him taking care other starts, Margaret represented the women in the 20s that started the revolution of speaking up and demanding rights. Margaret is often portrayed in the series advocating women's right to vote and is in relation to the passing of the 19th amendment in 1920.
I relate this to the Major Problems Document, "W.C.T.U Blasts Drinking and Smoking and Demands Power to Protect". In the article, the Women disagree on the drinking and smoking man and the need for power of women to take more stand to take care of the men subdued to such evils. "Women's ballot wil be the dealth knell of liquor traffic"! Upon reading this article in the beginning of the year I actually immediately thought of Margaret Schroeder. Women were a big drive behind the support of the Prohibition and it is directly related to a specific episode of Boardwalk Empire when Nucky first connects with Margaret in hopes to get the newly able voters of the women for the next election.
After the bond between Margaret and Nucky grows, you start to see Margaret start to become more and more in the lavish style of Nucky's mob life and she starts to dress more like the 20s flapper style. She becomes more aware and close to Nucky and eventually, Nucky relies on Margaret for support and trust when everything starts to fall apart. They are the tale of opposites attracting and is a main storyline with the series. I like how the show portrays the couple has a need for each other because my take of the women's movement in the 20s was that they started to understand they're right to a voice and say but it just didn't happen overnight, so Margaret started to live up the nice jewelry and nice dresses and it shows how easily perspective and values could change back then because it heavily affected the lifestyle you had. Margaret eventually moved into Nucky's mansion with her kids and, currently in the series, he sees her children from her late husband as his own. Margaret kind of transforms to political activist trying to make a change, but slowly falls into Nucky's housewife that he comes home to after a day of mob life.
The other woman i wanted to highlight was Lucy Danziger. She isn't a prime character of the series but she is the perfect character to represent the iconic ideal of the 20s: the Flapper girl.
She is introduced to the show as Nucky's mistress and arm-candy. (Well, she gave her goodies up rather easy to many characters in the show). Lucy is the perfect example of the new girl that evolved during the 20s. Before the 20s, a women was rarely open about sex, and being portrayed as provactive. then came the movement of the flapper women that rocked short hair along with short skirts. Publicly dancing, drinking and smoking was all on the list on interests for "flapper" women, according to our HIST text and Lucy was everything and more. In our Major Problems, "Margaret Sanger Seeks Pity for Teenage Mothers and Abstinent couples, 1928" exemplifies the changes in movements for the new actions of girls during this time. Sanger is best known for being an advocate for planned parenthood and birth control and well, Lucy, definitely would have benefited from this. Eventually, she ends up getting pregnant from a one night stand in the series so I wanted to bring up Sanger's accomplishments in the women's movement in US history on behalf of liberal, crazy drunk girl Lucy.
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