Life — May 20, 1886 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 283 **Top Section - "Chivalry" (1486-1856):** This poem nostalgically contrasts medieval courtly love with the speaker's present circumstances. The knight illustrations reference idealized chivalric tradition. The satire suggests that romantic devotion and noble ideals have disappeared from modern life—the speaker must now "pay her bills" rather than win glory through knightly deeds. **Bottom Section - "So Delicate":** This satirizes diplomatic exclusion. A Chinese Minister visiting Washington faces discrimination—excluded from hospital events because Chinese nationals cannot own U.S. property. The accompanying cartoon shows a woman claiming illness (having "swallowed myself") to avoid social obligation. The piece mocks both the discriminatory policy and the petty excuses used to avoid uncomfortable social situations.