Life, 1889-03-28 · page 12 of 18
Life — March 28, 1889 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Satire Analysis: "Our Literary Era" Page This page mocks literary pretension and gender hypocrisy in the Gilded Age. **Top section**: A publisher accepts an unmarked manuscript after learning it's by "Miss Blushington," a society woman claiming ignorant innocence. The satire: publishers lower editorial standards for fashionable female authors, assuming their "girlish fancies" need protection rather than scrutiny. The visitor's knowing smile suggests the author's real identity or quality is irrelevant—social status matters more. **"After the Parade"**: Rural Aunt Amanda critiques city fashion obsession (the boy's outfit). **"Ocular Demonstration"**: A husband and wife dispute his pre-marital behavior. The joke: she wouldn't believe warnings about him before marriage, but now complains about the same conduct. This mocks women's selective blindness regarding unsuitable suitors. The overall theme: society's double standards around female authorship, fashion, and marital judgment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: OUR LITERARY ERA. Nae DITOR: Here is your i manuscript, sir. I am surprised that you sent it tous. We never publish anything unfitted to enter the Christian, American home, Mr.—by the way, your name is not on the manuscript. VistroR: Oh, I did not write the story. The author is the beauti- ful Miss Blushington, 4a relative of the Von Prims, you know, and here is a preface which she has just written, stating that she is ig- norant of the world, and has merely jotted down her girlish fan- cies in the book, which she hopes the critics will not treat harshly, EpiTor: Ah, that makes a great difference, of course, and we will consider the book very carefully. These young girls are doing admirable work, nowadays, are they not? Algernon Doolittle. oY y NS BASSO SNS AFTER THE PARADE. Aunt Amanda (from Seedville): WELL, THESE CITY FOLK DON'T THINK OF ANYTHING BUT STYLE! IF THAT BOY WAS MY CHILD I'D A HAD HIM OUTER DRESSES LONG AGO, ANOTHER! She: YOU ARE A DRAMATIC AUTHOR I BELIEVE? He; Yes, MISS; THAT 18 MY VOCATION. She: 1 AM ABOUT GETTING A DIVORCE AND I WOULD LIKE YOU TO WRITE ME A PIECE IN WHICH I COULD STAR. I HAVE THE FINEST EMERALD RING IN AMERICA, AND IF YOU COULD UTILIZE THAT FACT IN THE PIECE I SHOULD LIKE YOU TO DO so. I HAVE ALSO COMPOSED A LITTLE POEM, CALLED ‘‘A MOUSE IN THE COFFIN,” WHICH I WOULD LIKE YOU TO HEAR ME RECITE; IT WOULD GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF MY POWER. I FORGOT TO STATE I AM A WELL-KNOWN SOCIETY AMATEUR AND MY BLOOD IS VERY OCULAR’ DEMONSTRATION. HE: You were fot so dissipated before we were married. HE:_ Indeed I was, my dear; but when anybody told you so then, yot: wouldn't believe it. comicbooks.com