Life, 1889-02-21 · page 11 of 14
Life — February 21, 1889 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Left: A Tragedy" - Life Magazine Satire This page satirizes courtship manipulation and social gossip among the leisure class. The main illustration shows "Perdita," a wallflower at a Van Setemup society reception, deliberately entrap "Florizel," a young, wealthy, inexperienced man, by requesting he tie her slipper ribbon—a pretext to compromise him socially. The dialogue reveals the con: being "seen together" will force him into either marriage or scandal. The secondary dialogue strips below mock women's casual deception in romance—one woman breaks off an engagement because her fiancé reads *Puck* (a competing satirical magazine), calling him intellectually unfit. The satire targets both predatory female matchmaking tactics and the frivolous pretenses of high society, where appearances and gossip matter more than genuine character or intellect.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
111 LEFT: A TRAGEDY. {[SCENE: Reception at the Van Setemup's; a sofa, with portitre in rear; sounds of music and dancing in an ad- Jacent room.) ERDITA (a wall-flower, lounging on the sofa, aside, as Florizel approaches): Here he comes—young, rich and in- experienced. There is no one near; I'll be bold (Zo Florézel, with an alluring smile): Good- evening! FLORIZEL: Why, good even- ing! (Endeavors to escape.) PERDITA (desperately): 1 want you to do me a favor. FLORIZEL (resignedly): With pleasure. What is it? PERDITA: Please tie the rib- bon on my slipper. FLORIZEL (thinking zt might be worse): Delighted, I’m sure! PERDITA: Ah, thanks! You're so very kind! Now, I ‘(ARE YOU REALLY WRITING TO HIM, POLLY, AND DO YOU FEEL IT YOUR DUTY TO BREAK want to tell you something. IT OFF?” (Florizel reluctantly sits down.) We were seen just now. FLORIZEL: Well, what of ‘AND HOW DO YOU KNOW HE IS NOT?” that? “Qu, YES. HE HAD DECEIVED ME COMPLETELY, AND LED ME TO SUPPOSE HE WAS A MAN OF INTELLECT AND CULTIVATED TASTES.” “Way, Bessie, I FOUND A COPY OF Fuck IN HIS OVERCOAT POCKET!” PERDITA: That dreadful comicbooks.com