Life — May 31, 1900 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon about romantic promises and material expectations in courtship. A woman named Daisy Putter asks what "loves me for keeps" means. A man named Dick claims it means "forever." However, Ruth Wittington delivers the punchline: it actually means the woman can keep his gifts if the relationship ends. The joke critiques the transactional nature of romantic relationships and gift-giving among the upper classes—suggesting that men's professions of eternal love are hollow, and the real "agreement" is that expensive presents are non-returnable. It's satirizing both male insincerity and female materialism in early 20th-century courtship rituals.