Life — February 11, 1897 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents a satirical poem about romantic entanglements. A wealthy man lists four women—Myrtilla, Chloris, Phyllis, and Sappho—each representing a different romantic type (the sweet flatterer, the regretful temptress, the sharp-tongued critic, the coquette). He declares that despite their efforts to compromise his fortune, heart, and social status, only "Laura" remains his true valentine because she asks nothing of him. The accompanying illustration shows an elegant woman serving refreshments to seated guests in a drawing room, likely depicting the scene described. The satire targets both the shallow romanticism and mercenary attitudes of Gilded Age courtship, where women were often portrayed as either gold-diggers or manipulative, while the idealized woman asks for nothing—a commentary on unrealistic expectations of female virtue and selflessness in that era.