Life, 1893-07-06 · page 13 of 18
Life — July 6, 1893 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page contains two distinct elements: **The Main Text (by Harry Romaine):** A satirical dialogue between George and Esther about marital fidelity. Esther argues that flirting, hand-holding, and even kissing another man is acceptable—as long as she *imagines* he's George. The humor targets Victorian-era gender double standards and the absurdity of women's restricted social freedoms. George's final deadpan response ("it would do me much good") exposes the logical flaw in her reasoning, delivering the satirical punch. **The Illustration:** "General Putnam's Ride" depicts a famous Revolutionary War legend where General Israel Putnam allegedly escaped British forces by riding his horse down a steep cliff. The engraving is labeled "from a very old print," suggesting it's a historical reproduction meant to contrast dignified historical action with the petty domestic squabbles in the text above—a common *Life* technique using juxtaposition for satirical effect. Together, the page mocks both restrictive marriage conventions and women's limited social agency in early 20th-century America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ot oo 13 George gravely, “I hope you don’t intend to indulge in any of the silly watering-place flirtations that so tend to lower a woman in the eyes of her friends?” “ Now, whatever you do, don’t get jealous!” cried Esther, decidedly. “ You know | hate a jealous man, George. Of course I expect to meet her men this summer, but I hope I know how to treat them properly.” “T have no objection tq your meeting other men if you think you can be true to me;" said George. Don't be a goose! I never meet a man, and get to know him real well, but what it seems to me that he is you. That is, if he is very nice.” “You think he is /?” asked George, somewhat puzzled. “ Yes, especially if he has bright blue eyes, and a cute little brown moustache, and curly hair, and talks very interestingly ; then it almost seems as if you were with me, you know. “Y-e-s," assented George. “And, if I should meet some fellow like that, and I should go riding and driving with him, and rowing, it would be al! right, wouldn't it, so long as I felt as if he were you all the time?” “Perhaps so,” replied George. “And if I should get to know him better and he should want to hold my hand, or put his arm around my w or— or even kiss me, just once or twice you know ; it would be all right, wouldn't it, for ¢4en I am sure I should think he was you; especially if it was on the piazza after dark.” “Tt might be all right for you, Esther ;” said George with a conscientious struggle for exact truth. “It might be all right for you, but I don’t see that it would do me much good!" Harry Romaine. SS KS 2) eS 2 = GENERAL PUTNAM’S RIDE. FROM A VERY OLD PRINT. comicbooks.com