Life, 1891-09-24 · page 1 of 18
Life — September 24, 1891 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page, September 24, 1891 The page features a cartoon titled "A Man Is Only a Man" depicting a domestic scene where a woman sits while a man stands before her. The dialogue reads: "Do you suppose George could be base enough to marry me for my money?" and "How much have you got?" This satirizes late 19th-century marriage practices and anxieties about male fortune-hunting. The joke targets upper-class women's concerns about suitors' mercenary motives—a common Victorian social anxiety. The title's cynicism suggests men will compromise their principles for wealth, reducing them to purely self-interested actors. The woman's question reveals her own uncertainty about her suitor's genuine affection versus financial interest, reflecting Gilded Age concerns about authenticity in courtship among the wealthy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OLUME XVIII. NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 24, 1891. NUMBER 456. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright 1891, by Mrrcumit & Mituan, pecans : SVM. A MAN IS ONLY A MAN. “Do vou supp ce GEORGE COULD BE NASE ENOUGH TO MARRY ME FOR MY MONEY?” “How MUCH HAVE You Gor?” comicbooks.com