Life, 1890-08-28 · page 12 of 16
Life — August 28, 1890 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Analysis This page contains three satirical pieces mocking Victorian social hypocrisy: **"Semper Idem"** (top): A conversation between Mr. Macey and Mr. Birthaye on a ship. Miss Edwards mentions ancient Egyptian women managed households; Birthaye asks if women do this in America. The joke: Macey, unmarried, assumes this means women "run" (control) their husbands—implying wives dominate American marriages, contradicting the era's ideology of male authority. **"The Natural Inference"** (middle): A woman assumes a self-described "literary man" is poor and has no money to give. The satire: authors were stereotyped as impoverished, making the woman's snap judgment darkly humorous. **"How It Works Elsewhere"** (bottom right): A Puritanical mistress refuses to lend her sickle for neighbors to cut grass on the Sabbath, claiming she has none. The satire targets rigid religious observance—she lies rather than violate the Sabbath, exposing how "honesty" (the section header) vanishes when piety is involved.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SSE =] X XARA VY KAR AANTN SEMPER IDEM. Young Mr. Macey: Mis HOUSENOLD TO SUIT THEMSELVES. LUCKY Ww Mfr, Binthayre: ARE YOU MARRIED, MACE! Macey: No. Mr, Binthayre: 1 THOVONT Nor. WARDS SAYS THAT THE WOMEN IN ANCIENT EGYPT USED TO RUN THEIR HUSBANDS AND ALL THE LIVE IN AMERICA, EH? HE NATURAL INFERENCE. STRANGER: Madam, I am a hterary man. SHE (whose husband fs an author): Sorry, but I haven't any change about me. My ea >» HOW IT WORKS ELSEWHERE maa THE progressive managers of the Metropolitan Mu- f seum are probably very much i disgusted at the success which has at- (PF tended the opening of museums in other cities upon the Sabbath. Itis un- fortunate that these gentlemen should be so constituted that the happiness of others isan offense to them. The Aoston Transcript, in a recent comment, Whatever other enterprises, benevolent! intended to reach the working people, have failed to hit their mark, certainly the Sunday opening of the Museum has not been in any sense a failure. One group of at least ten plainly-dressed workingmen entered in a body, and every man respectfully removed his hat as soon as he had passed the outer door. The conduct of these people in the rooms is unexceptionable ; and no one, to be sure, should suppose that it would be otherwise. GONE OUT OF BUSINESS—Honesty. Bridget: TWe NEW NEIGHPORS NEXT DOOR WANTS TO CUT THEIR GRASS, AND THEY SAY AS WOULD VE RE SO KIND AS 70 LEND THEM YOUR SICKL Puritanical Mistress; LEND MY SICKLE TO CUT GRASS ON THE SapRaTH! TELL THEM, BRIDGET, THAT WE HAVEN'T ANY, comicbooks.com