Mr. Mom
This is a graphic biography and as such most of the imagery is just that: visual imagery. The images all serve to punctuate the overarching theme that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a product of being lucky to have been surrounded by progressive men in her private life. One of the most striking bits of imagery accompanies text which reads: “Sometime Ruth and Marty’s children received confused looks when they said their mother argued cases in the Supreme Court and their father made the family’s dinners. People found this strange.” Why? Because in the entire history of the Supreme Court until RBG took her seat, only one father ever stayed home while the mother went off to work on the bench: Sandra Day O’Connor’s husband. The imagery of a smiling Marty Ginsburg wearing an apron while serving a turkey to his waiting wife and kids is imagery which encapsulates the revolution which took place over the course of their adult lives.
Little Miss Shop Class
Connected to the imagery of Marty smiling in an apron is an earlier drawing of a school-age Ruth also wearing an apron. She is not smiling, however. In fact, she is frowning while standing in a mess next to the smiling, perfect blonde little girl whose cake won a prize. The text informs us that young Ruth was forced to take cooking classes and denied what she really wanted: to take shop and learn how to use a saw. In a headline font over Ruth are the words, “Ruth objected.”
She Dissents
The most vivid example of how the written text and the visual presentation of the graphic biography work in connection with each other as imagery is through the recurring reiteration of the idea of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (or just Ruth Bader) having a history of dissent. Throughout the book, the visual headline concept presents Ruth as a girl and woman who “protested,” “resisted,” “persisted,” and “did not concur” among other synonymous examples of rebellious behavior.
What Came Before
Ruth Bader did not come fully formed into the world as the baby that would grow up to become Ruth Bader Ginsburg, much less the icon known simply as RBG. Great importance is placed upon her mother’s dedication to exposing Ruth to strong, powerful, capable women from both history and fiction. Ruth at the library becomes a vibrant bit of imagery, particularly in one expansive drawing showing her as a very young girl (with a smile on her face) sitting alone in the library with her back up against a stack of books. From the book she holds in her hand appears to be coming to life Nancy Drew, the mythic goddess Athena groundbreaking female aviator, Amelia Earhart.
