Life, 1896-02-13 · page 5 of 20
Life — February 13, 1896 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Spinning Wheel" - Life Magazine, Page 113 This page contains two illustrations satirizing women's changing social roles in the early 20th century. The **upper section** mocks the "New Woman" who rejects traditional domestic duties—specifically spinning yarn. The text dismisses old-fashioned domestic ideals with sarcasm: women now choose their own clothing and activities, defying expectations. The **lower illustration**, titled "The Spinning Wheel," depicts a woman on a bicycle (the "wheel") with a man accompanying her, replacing the old spinning wheel. The accompanying verse contrasts Priscilla's past—spinning at home saying "miles are good for any miss"—with the modern woman's active lifestyle on bicycles. The satire suggests women's liberation through cycling and outdoor activities has replaced Victorian domesticity, which the magazine presents as both shocking and inevitable.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE SPINNING WHEEL. (NEW AND OLD.) ICKLEcustom! Nothing stay: There is no controlling Fate or Fortune in these days, Now the wheel is rolling. Here's Priscilla in a gown Nothing less than shocking— Short ?—It hardly reaches down To Priscilla's stocking ! Years ago when at the wheel Sat Priscilla spinning, Exercising toe and heel, And the homespun winning— That was different from this Spinning home, and saying : “Miles are good for any miss "— With the proverb playing. Yet for all it seems that she Girlish ways would banish, Knickerbockered to the knee In a manner mannish— Give me Her!- I little care So we go out “ biking ;” What she chooses she may wear, It quite suits my liking ! Felix Carmen. comicbooks.com