Life, 1891-01-01 · page 7 of 18
Life — January 1, 1891 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 7 This page contains two satirical pieces: **"The Dear Girls"** (top cartoon) depicts an artist showing a woman a portrait, with dialogue about his artistic abilities. The satire appears to mock vanity and flattery in portraiture. **"Reflections at the Opera"** (right side) is a dialogue piece criticizing the behavior of New York women at the Metropolitan Opera House. The text suggests upper-class New York females are "vulgar" compared to European counterparts, attributing this to environment rather than innate character. It questions whether their poor behavior reflects breeding or circumstance. The accompanying small cartoon (left) shows opera-goers, likely illustrating the social dynamics being critiqued. The overall satire targets wealthy New York society's conduct and pretensions at cultural venues.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
y bably esent, ellect rh his ment, mpa- inited ing: wing , the state on in ng to f the vhich s not and 1 his riew) ty of ry is from the the cem yes, nost less oc- ort, ork- his and fa the srve ‘hat the lec- to ra “(TL TRUST THAT HE WILL MAKE A HANDSOME PORTRAIT FOR ME.” “*HE NO DOUBT WILL, THE DEAR GIRLS. AN ARTIST AS GREAT AS HE IS CANDO ALMOST ANYTHING.” the same convolutions with the same in- tensity which the writer himself experi- enced. Hence you hear, see, feel, cogitate, dream with him. “THERE are many other fruitful sug- gestions in these essays, and turns of expression which the writer has, per- haps, absorbed from Meredith. Although praising unstintedly, they are judicial, fair, logical. Meredith men will also value the com- plete Bibliography by John Lane. Butit is unfortunate that it was thought necessary to add to this volume (under the title “Some Notes in Regard to George Meredith in America"’), a self- congratulatory account by W. Morton Fullerton, of how he came to write about Meredith in the Boston Advertiser, and so, of course, to stir up this Continent on the subject. Droch, cu BELL Any “ CoME, COME, SIR; WHAT ARE YOU DO- ING UP THERE?" “T'sH ALL RIGHT, LOSH S-NIONT KEY; SOMEBODY MUS-It FOUND IT, AND HUNG IT ur? REFLECTIONS AT THE OPERA. HY is it that the moneyed New York female is so much more vulgar than the corresponding male? It is not the male, as a rule, who enjoys talking in a loud voice at the opera. It is not the male who suggests a coat-of- arms on his carriage door. Nor is it the male who overdresses and tries to out- shine his neighbors. Is the native New York female innately vulgar, after all, or is it only the environ- ment ? As you experience her at the Metropol- itan Opera it is mournful to observe that her good breeding is generally in inverse ratio to the brilliancy of her jewels. HE: You seem to find that paper amusing. SHE: Yes, it is only the dead who take no interest in LIFE. comicbooks.com