Life, 1893-11-16 · page 5 of 14
Life — November 16, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "An Aristocratic Prodigy" This satirical sketch depicts a scene in the drawing rooms of a wealthy Fifth Avenue mansion. The title and dialogue mock upper-class pretensions, specifically the notion that aristocratic birth automatically confers superiority. Mrs. Waterstock Tufft-Hunter, a society matron, expresses anxiety about her daughter Evelyn's appearance, insisting on formal dress and jewels for the evening. The humor targets the disconnect between democratic ideals and actual aristocratic behavior: Evelyn, despite being raised with "education and training," remains "lamentably democratic in all her ideas" and foolishly dreams of marrying for love rather than social advancement. The satire critiques how wealthy families' pretensions to superiority clash with their daughters' potentially rebellious independence and romantic ideals—a common theme in early 20th-century American social comedy.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN ARISTOCRATIC PRODIGY. SCENE: Elaborate reception and drawing-rooms of the Waterstock Tuft-Hunter mansion in Fifth Avenue. Car- pets, curtains, and hangings of the most expensive and modern make. Large oil paintings of the French school decorate the walls in protective glass casings. Everything costly, stré and new. TIME: To-day. (Enter MRS. WATERSTOCK TUFT-HUNTER, wearing a look of anxiety, She glances around the room, which #s brilliantly illuminated by many incandescent lights, with a sigh of relief.) RS. WATERSTOCK TUFT-HUNTER (solus) : Well, I think the surroundings are such that even his lordship cannot fail to be impressed. Ah me! (sighing) what a lot there is in appearances! It is for that reason 1 sted upon Evelyn's receiving his lordship this even- ing in a low-necked dress and her brightest jewels, But it is time she was ready. (Rings sonnette, Enter powdered and diverted servant.) Spilker, kindly ascertain from Miss Eve- lyn's maid if Miss Evelyn has completed her toilet. SPILKER: Yes, ma’am. (Bows and exits.) Mrs. WATERSTOCK TUFT-HUNTER (once more alone): How little do girls realize when the great opportunity of a life- time presents itself! It is a strange thing, after all the edu- cation and training we have bestowed upon Evelyn, that she should still remain so lamentably democratic in all her ideas. The foolish child actually declared this afternoon that the dream of her life was to marry a man she could love! It is true I loved Waterstock when I married him; but then I knew he would make his mark in the Street, and that we should some day reach the pinnacle of — comicbooks.com