Life, 1891-12-17 · page 7 of 14
Life — December 17, 1891 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Western Palmistry" and "The Unreasonableness of Women" **Top cartoon**: Two figures in Western attire (appearing to be cowboys or frontiersmen) consult a fortune teller about their futures. The palmist delivers dark predictions about sudden reversals, loss of firearms, and strong desire for money—ending with a warning about "taste for tragedy." This satirizes both fortune-telling charlatans and anxieties about frontier life's unpredictability. **Bottom section**: A humorous essay criticizes women who complain about mistreatment while lacking physical training to manage themselves independently in public spaces like streetcars. The accompanying cartoon shows a woman being jostled in crowded transit. The piece sarcastically suggests women demanding equal treatment should accept the physical discomforts that accompany public life. This reflects early-20th-century debates about women's independence and "separate spheres" ideology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WESTERN PALMISTRY. “HOLD UP YOUR HANDS, THER A sup! YOU LOVE YOUR LIFE BETTER. THIS IS INDICATED BY TH FOR TRAGEDY, ALTHOUGH YOUR WILL 1S STRONG ARGUMENTS OF STRANGERS. EMPry yoOUR Pockets. TASTE THE LIFE LINES IN YOUR HANDS ARE CONTRADICTORY, REVERSE OF FORTUNE.—YOU HAVE NO LIKING FOR FIRE To MEET witht RMS, BUT HAVE But, THe, LAR LINES WHICH YOUR FORE-ARM DESCRINES! YOU HAVE XO MTIONS MAY ARISE UNDER WHICH YOU WILL YIRLD TO THE TOO STRON _THE UNREASONABLENESS OF "WOMEN. “Tat a lady should be an- noyed because a gentleman in a Fifth Avenue ‘bus smashed her bonnet and then sat in her lap. simply shows how unreason- ing some people are. This lady must certainly have known that in entering a Fifth Avenue stage, she took not only her life but her clothes, as it were, in her own hands. The mere fact of her being able to climb into the ‘bus and hold the door open at the time shows that she was in perfect physical training and well able to take care of herself in a crowd. If a lady is not willing to be hustled about and sat hould not ride in these con- She should remember that same upon she veyances. every gentleman, aside from standing upright in the aisle, in itself sufficiently difficult and fatiguing, is expected to act conductor for the other passengers; that for this privilege of acting as an employé of the stage company he has to pay full fare. He may be a fool to do it, but it is annoying at the time, and allowance should be made for him. No lady who respects her clothing should ever get into these things. Neither should gentlemen who are not in training for a foot- ball match. J official in the performance of his duty. PRISONER: But, your Honor, I didn’t know he held any position under the city. Justice: Didn't you say just now you knew he was a Tammany man? PRISONER: Yes. Justice: See here, my man, you are discharged on the ground of imbecility. USTICE: You are charged with obstructing a city THis settles the Crisp Speaker pun—for LiFe. comicbooks.com