Life, 1893-03-30 · page 5 of 28
Life — March 30, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 199 This page contains three separate humorous pieces about relationships and social conventions. The top illustration depicts a domestic scene where a woman addresses a man about kissing someone named Dickey. The dialogue explores marital anxieties—she worries about financial security if he dies, while he reassures her of provision. The humor comes from the awkward juxtaposition of romantic concern with practical mortality planning. Below are two brief satirical observations: "It Worked Both Ways" mocks how financial security influences marriage decisions, and "The Explanation Accepted" uses a doctor's visit to comment on emotional detachment in relationships—suggesting that avoiding "compunctions about murder" requires emotional distance, a dark joke about marital tolerance. The satire targets Victorian-era attitudes toward marriage as economic arrangement rather than romantic partnership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LLY, yyy YH, My) “YOU DON'T MEAN TO SAY YOU KISSED Dickey ?” “Yes,"" ‘Dip you HUG Him?" **No—No—I WANTED TO, BUT I WAS AFRAID | WOULD HURT HIM,” IT WORKED BOTH WAYS. THE EXPLANATION ACCEPTED. HE: Does the fact that I have money make any dif- HE: Have you doctors any feelings ? “7 ference to you, dearest ? HE: Oh, yes. When my own brother is sick I call in HE: Of course it does, my own. It is such a comfort to another physician, Doesn't that show it ? know that if I should die you would be provided for. Sue: Yes, A man who has no compunctions about mur- SHE: But suppose I should die. der, but avoids fratricide, must have some feelings. 1k: Then I would be provided for. HE difference between a conversation and a conver- TT Sazione is that in the one you're not obliged to listen CHARITY covers almost as many sins as wealth, to a bore, and in the other you are, comicbooks.com