According to Emma, hers was a harsh childhood, which was dominated by the figure of her stern father Abraham Goldman.
The Goldman's financial situation was never very good, due partly to her father's total ineptness in his business, partly to predjudice towards Jews that confronted him daily.
Frustrated and bitter from numerous failures in his profession, her father often let out his anger on Emma. But despite his coldness she was attracted to him and tried to gain his affection. "My father was handsome, dashing and full of vitality. I loved him even while I was afraid of him. I wanted him to love me, but I never knew how to reach his heart. His harshness only served to make me more contrary."(1).
The fact that she was forced to go up against her authoritarian father resulted in the surfacing of her rebellious nature early in life. This distribution of power in her family had a major impact on her personality and would lead to her radical attitude.
Another important thing to mention is the fact that as a Jew, she was born into a religious environment that was very concerned about social equality, but on the other hand lived in the Russian society, which viewed Jews as a second-class people.
This situation, being caught between two cultures - the Jewish and the Russian, the ghetto and the outside - helped her realize very early that rules and laws are often simply accepted, even though they may be contrary and senseless.
Certain occurances, for example her father losing in a local election - apparently only because he was Jewish - or the the brutality and cruelty with which military officers treated their soldiers, deprived her of the belief in fair politics and heightened her moral sensitivity.
In 1875 she moved with her family to KÖnigsberg, where she went to "Realschule" for three and a half years. This was the only period of formal education Emma experienced.
When her family moved to St.