Life, 1891-08-27 · page 11 of 14
Life — August 27, 1891 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 109 This page satirizes early 1900s gender and fashion conventions. The top illustration mocks women's beach attire—specifically the controversy over bare arms and low necklines. The quoted dialogue suggests society considered such exposure immodest for adult women, though acceptable for babies (who were "plump and not afraid"). The main comic exchange features a "Chicago Girl" seeking legal advice about a lord's wife's divorce status. This appears to mock American women's fascination with European aristocracy and their tendency to ask naive questions when abroad. The bottom illustration and caption humorously reference the "old story" of men monopolizing conversation—one man within twenty miles keeps a "horrid loud girl from Chicago" talking to herself, satirizing American women tourists' reputation for excessive talking.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“TD THINK IT VERY BAD TASTE TO APPEAR IN LOW NECK AND BARE ARMS. IT IS WELL ENOUGH FOR BAMES, BUT NOT FOR WOMEN.” “BECAUSE BABIES ARE PLUMP AND NOT AFRAID.” Mrs. Gilman Otis is confined to her cottage at Narragansett Pier, suffering from a severe cold, the result of over-exposure. Mr. Harvey Blowitin and family are permanent guests of his father-in-law at Ducatshurst. The yachting party e ersnapper Club had a stormy passage up the Sound to Newport. They have concluded to return by rail. A NEW POINT. HICAGO GIRL (¢0 stranger who has taken her in to dinner): \ am going abroad soon and I want to get some points. Do you know anything about English law ? STRANGER: I am an English barrister myself. CuIcaGo GIRL: Oh, how nice. Now, suppose a lord's wife gets a divorce, does she still have the title ? It's THE OLD STORY. ONLY ONE MAN WITHIN TWENTY MILES, AND THAT HORRID LOUD GIkL FROM CHICAGO INSISTS ON MONOPOLIZING HID comicbooks.com