Life, 1891-05-07 · page 3 of 14
Life — May 7, 1891 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page (Volume XVII, Number 436) This sketch depicts a social satire about religious practice and marital discord. A "zealous young clergyman" confronts a woman about her inconsistent church attendance, noting she and her husband rarely attend the same service on consecutive Sundays. The clergyman lectures her on the necessity of "settled place of worship" for spiritual health, then pointedly asks if she's aware that her bishop's wife regularly attends church—implying the woman should follow this example of proper devotion. The satire targets upper-class hypocrisy: the couple's inability to attend together suggests marital tension or social scheduling conflicts, while the clergyman's appeal to the bishop's wife's example highlights how religious duty becomes a matter of social class performance rather than genuine faith.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NUMBER 436. Zealous Young Clergyman (to lady whom he has known but five minutes, and whose name he did not catch): WHERE DO YOU ATTEND DIVINE SERVICE, MapaM ? She: 1 GENERALLY GO FROM PLACE TO PLACE WITH MY HUSBAND. SUCCESSION. Z. Y. Clergyman: AM, MY DEAR LADY, LET ME URGE UPON YOU THE NECESSITY OF 1 BELIEVE ME, THERE 18 NOTHING SO INDISPENSABLE TO YOUR SOUL'S HEALTH. She (with dignity): ARE YOU AWARE, SIR, THAT YOU ARE ADDRESSING THE WIFE OF YOUR WE ARE SELDOM AT THE SAME CHURCH TWO SUNDAYS IN HAVING SOME SETTLED PLACE OF WORSHIP. Bisuor ? comicbooks.com