Life, 1893-05-25 · page 5 of 14
Life — May 25, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The American Comedy: 'Self-Made' Twice Removed" This satire mocks the myth of American self-made success. The dialogue reveals that a young man (Young Trail, a "railroad man") plans to marry a supposedly "lovely girl," but she is actually the great-granddaughter of Hardscrabble, a multi-millionaire. The joke critiques American pretensions: the girl appears to be marrying "up," but her family wealth—derived from Hardscrabble's self-made fortune—means she's actually marrying down. The title's "twice removed" suggests the original self-made achievement has been diluted through inheritance. The cartoon illustrates the tension between American ideals of meritocracy and the reality of dynastic wealth concentration among the wealthy elite, suggesting that "self-made" success becomes meaningless by the second or third generation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE AMERICAN COMEDY. “ SELF-MADE,” H! what a lovely girl! Yes, a very lovely girl indeed. And that creature with her? You need not call him a creature, he is an English peer. And that other young man just going out ? Oh! that is young Trail, a railroad man. What is she doing with the peer ? She's going to marry him. Mercy! Him? Why, yes; he’s a good peer. one in his line. But, bless your heart he looks half-witted ! Oh! not so bad as that. He came into a considerable estate before he was fairly grown, and the pace he kept wasn’t good for him. But there's more left of him than you'd think. He's the fifteenth successive TWICE REMOVED. But that sweet girl— She is a dear girl. She's the granddaughter of Hard- scrabble, the multi-millionaire, whose daughter married Geoffrey Thompkins, of the old Knickerbocker Thompkins family. And has been living in London mostly for five or six years past ? Yes, the same, But what does she want of that shop-worn noble? They say that’s mostly her mother's enterprise. You see the little peer and his folks have a number of good places around England, and a very powerful pull in one of the smartest sets in London, But the Hardscrabble money isn’t out yet. The Thomp- kinses can hire country places if they want them. Yes, but you can’t hire ancestors for your grandchildren. comicbooks.com