Life, 1898-10-06 · page 6 of 20
Life — October 6, 1898 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Recapitulation" This illustration depicts a wedding scene with the newlyweds at center, surrounded by wedding guests including bridesmaids, groomsmen, and other attendees. The caption title "A Recapitulation" suggests this shows the couple after their ceremony. The accompanying text describes the couple's emotional state post-wedding: the bride feels relief that the challenging ordeal of the wedding itself has concluded, while the groom remains uncertain whether he made the right decision. Both are in "dangerous moods," yet a "common impulse" draws them together romantically. This appears to be satirical commentary on marriage anxieties—depicting the bride's focus on surviving the wedding event itself, contrasted with the groom's doubts about the commitment he's just made. The humor targets stereotypical newlywed emotions rather than specific political figures or events.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HEY had passed through the lines of laughing bridesmaids and grooms- men, had heroically received the showers of rice, and were now in the carriage on their way to the train. He had recovered from the feeling of strangeness occasioned by hastily chang: ing bis clothes in an unfamiliar room, and she was thanking her stars that the ordeal of bidding her mother good-by had been so easily accomplished. It was the first moment they had been absolutely A Recapitulation. alone since the ceremony. The strain was over and all theit troubles lay be- hind them, yet neither could find the words to begin a conversation. He lay back in the seat, thinking. He was wondering if, after all, he had not made a mistake; if he would not have been happier with the other girl; but no sooner had the idea presented itself than he was appalled at his heresy. She was thinking, too. She was think- ing of the impatience he had exhibited when they were bidding her parents fare- well, and she was contrasting bis brusque manners and speech with the unfailing courtesy and good nature of the other fellow. They were both in dangerous moods, yet. swayed by a common impulse, they leaned forward and kissed each other. He took her hand. “Can you realize it, dear?” he almost whispered. “What?” she asked. comicbooks.com