Life, 1891-05-21 · page 8 of 15
Life — May 21, 1891 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains two distinct sections: **Top Section ("The Whirligig of Time")**: A brief satirical dialogue mocking poor old "Henpeck," whose typewriter-wielding wife now dominates him—reversing their traditional marital roles. The joke relies on early 20th-century gender assumptions about who "should" control domestic life. **Main Section ("Two More of J.M. Barrie's Books")**: A literary review of Scottish author J.M. Barrie's works, discussing his satirical novel about a "Society for Doing Without Some People." The critic argues Barrie's sharp social satire works better in short form than expanded into full books. The accompanying illustrations show figures from his stories. **Bottom illustration**: Shows interaction between a woman and boy named "Freddy Jones," with dialogue about hitting—unclear without fuller context. The page targets both gender role reversals and literary pretension of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
> LIFE: THE WHIRLIGIG OF TIME. ME brings strange reversals. There's poor old Henpeck, for instance, who married his type- “cc writer.” “Well, come ir “ Why, it was 4e who used to dictate. where does the reversal A TERRIBLE NIGHTMARE. a6 I TELL you what it is ovitch, Czarina,” said the Czar, “you've got to stopovcki making angel cake- ovitches.” “Why soski?” asked the Czarina. “ Becauseovitch, that little bitoffi | ate last nightski made me dream that we had Georgeovitch Kennanowski here to dineovitch.” * Has he any fads?” “Yes. One.” * What's that?” * Himself.” M. BARRIE’S BOOKS. icide Club, J. M. TWO MORE OF J. F Stevenson had never invented the $ Barrie would never have written his satirical skit on the Society for Doing Without Some People. It is one of the penalties of success that profit is assured you from things that would not of themselves command it, merely because of the momentum of the good thing you once did well, with all your heart. Because several thousand people like * The Window in Thrums,” it is believed that they will buy this repulsive little story, which has been expanded by big type and short paragraphs into a book, called “ Better Dead.” It would demand a grotesque fancy like Stevenson's to make the story agreeable; Mr. Barrie h Sas a writer, but he ‘The introduction of real people of public atire merely a piece of s many tine qualiti is never grotesque. importance as characters makes the cheap journalism, unworthy to be preserved with the author's other books, R™: if you will, by contrast Mr. Barrie’s “ My Lady Nicotine “—a_ book that suggests but is very unlike “The Reveries of a Bachelor.” The former is urban; the latter is provincial. A briar pipe filled with Arcadia Mixture starts the reveries in the one ; a hearth fire, in the other. The five bachelors in * My Lady Nicotine" seem to be utterly dissimilar in tastes and feelings—and have only one bond of union, their common love for the famous Arcadia Mixture. The solemnity with which they treat their pipes ; Harry: Bo-0o! Bo-Noo, FREDDY JONES KEEPS HITTING ME. Nurse: Harry: AN’ WHY DON’T YOU HIT HIM BACK? I DID HIT HIM FIRST AND IT DIDN'T DO ANY GOOD. their assured superiority to everybody outside of the circle which knows and appreciates that mysterious brand of tobacco ; the sentimental selfishness of their bachelor exist- ence, and the delicate humor with which the quiet episodes are narrated—these are some of the charming qualities of the book. But the crowning humor of it is that the story is told by one of their number who boldly announces in the first chapter that he has married, and his wife has won him from his pipe and his comrades. He cheaply moralizes on their enslave- ment, and then in reveries calls up the happy days when he smoked with them. The closing chapter is a most subtile piece of writing. The narrator praises his constancy to his promise never to smoke again, and add: Ihave not even any craving for the Arcadia now, though it is a tobacco that should only be smoked by our greatest men.” Then he confesses that when his wife is asleep and all the house is still, he sits with his empty briar comicbooks.com