Life, 1898-04-14 · page 1 of 20
Life — April 14, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Unanswerable" - Life Magazine, April 14, 1898 This cartoon illustrates a scene titled "Unanswerable," with the caption: "If you insist upon knowing these are two reasons for my refusing you" and "Yourself and another man." The image shows a romantic rejection scene. A man gazes at his reflection in a mirror while a woman sits nearby, apparently delivering her refusal of his romantic advances. The satire lies in her stated reasons for rejection: he cannot compete with his own reflection (vanity/self-absorption) and another rival suitor. The joke critiques masculine conceit—suggesting the rejected man is so self-absorbed that his own narcissism is his chief romantic obstacle. This reflects late-Victorian social commentary on courtship dynamics and male ego.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXxX1 NEW YORK, APRIL 14, 1898. NUMBER 801. Entered at the New York, Post Office as SecoudClass Mall Matter, Copyright, 1808 by Life Publishing Company. adh i A NTod vee CANS ff SVM. UNANSWERABLE, “IF YOU INSIST UPON KNOWING, THERE ARE TWO REASONS POR MY REFUSING YoU." “AND THEY AREY" “YOURSELP AND ANOTHER Man.”