Life, 1897-05-06 · page 3 of 20
Life — May 6, 1897 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "A Slam of Life" This cartoon satirizes wealthy fathers' concerns about their sons' marriages and financial security. The scene shows a young man reclining casually while his father stands disapprovingly. The dialogue—"I am engaged to marry Miss Hungerford, Dad. Can she support a husband?"—inverts traditional expectations by having the son ask whether his fiancée can financially support *him*, rather than vice versa. The satire critiques both idle sons of wealthy families (who lack ambition or means) and the anxiety about women's economic independence. The poem below reinforces this, questioning why sons of great men fail to achieve their own merit. The piece mocks the social anxiety of the era regarding changing gender roles and economic dependency.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XxXIX NUMBER 750 “1 AM ENGAGED TO MARRY MISS HUNGERFORD, DAD." ONS of great men do remind us We can make our own sublime; And, departing, leave behind us Son-spots on the sands of time. What is greatness, if its merit Is to be for one alone, And the grand old father’s spirit Must not reach unto the son? “CAN SHE SUPPORT A HUSBAND?" A SLAM OF LIFE. (Dedicated to the sons of their fathers, whom the Nation knows.) What is wrong in such transmission? Why shouid not the Nation find In the coming sons’ condition, What the fathers left behind? All the sons are great, and therefore When they ask the Nation's aid To reward their service, wherefore Should the hand of State be stayed? Theirs, perhaps, is but the story Of what they would like to do; But what of that? Each father's glory Was enough, at least, for two. Let them, then, be up and doing, With an eye for anything That is half way worth pursuing, For the stuff that it will bring. W. J. Lampton.