Life — November 7, 1901 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is an illustration accompanying a poem about romantic infatuation. The image shows a woman (identified as "Lucy" in the text) depicted in an idealized, romantic style typical of early 20th-century Life magazine aesthetics. The accompanying verse humorously presents a man's admission that he's fallen for Lucy despite—or perhaps because of—her physical appearance. The poem satirizes the conventional wisdom that "beauty is only skin-deep" by suggesting that superficial attractiveness has real emotional power, leaving him neglecting meals and sleep. The joke plays on the tension between rational dismissal of physical beauty's importance and its actual influence on human behavior. The illustrated signature appears to be the artist's mark.