Life, 1894-08-30 · page 1 of 16
Life — August 30, 1894 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Newport Maiden" - Life Magazine, August 30, 1894 This cartoon satirizes class attitudes toward wealth and marriage among America's wealthy elite. The scene depicts two figures at Newport, Rhode Island—then the premier resort destination for the affluent. The dialogue mocks the hypocrisy of the wealthy regarding spiritual values. The rector (clergyman) lectures about Scripture's teaching that wealth hinders salvation. The "Gay Lamb" (the young woman) responds that she couldn't understand this doctrine until reading how difficult it is for the rich to enter Heaven—implying the wealthy deliberately ignore such teachings. The satire targets the contradiction between the ostensibly pious Newport society and their actual pursuit of material luxury and advantageous marriages. The joke exposes how the rich rationalize their worldly ambitions despite Christian moral teachings.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXIV. NEW YORK, AUGUST 30, 1894. g NUMBER 609. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1894, by Mercnmut & Minter. THE NEWPORT MAIDEN. Rector: 1T 18 INSTRUCTIVE TO NOTE WHAT A FLOOD OF LIGHT ONE PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE THROWS UPON ANOTHER. Ewe Lamb: Yes, I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND ABOUT THERE BEING NO MARRYING OR GIVING IN MARRIAGE ABOVE UNTIL I READ HOW HARD IT WAS FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN,