Life, 1900-12-27 · page 13 of 21
Life — December 27, 1900 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical drawing by Edward Jones depicting a mercenary family conversation. A young woman addresses her elderly aunt, discussing marriage plans to "Jack" while casually implying the aunt's death will provide their startup capital. The satire targets **gold-digging and financial opportunism within families**. The niece's euphemistic language—framing inheritance as the aunt's gift, pretending concern while discussing her demise, and asking if the aunt gets "fun out of anticipation"—exposes the self-serving hypocrisy of relatives who court elderly relatives for money. The portrait on the wall likely represents a deceased family member, reinforcing themes of inherited wealth. The joke's edge lies in the niece's brazen transparency: she openly discusses financial expectations while barely disguising her eagerness for the aunt's death. This reflects early 20th-century anxieties about materialism and family obligation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* Now, AUNTIE, YOU KNOW I WANT TO MARRY JACK, AND YOU KNOW TOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY SO WE CAN SET OURSELVES UP NICELY.” cS OD GR. CHILD, 1 AM NOT GOING To DIE YET!" COURSE YOU'RE NOT, YOU DEAN OLD THING. AND | WOULDN'T HAVE YOU FOR THE WORLD, BUT DON'T YOU EVER GFT ANY FUN OUT OF ANTICIPATION?”