Life, 1902-03-13 · page 9 of 20
Life — March 13, 1902 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis The top cartoon depicts a woman leaning toward a seated man with an exaggerated, flirtatious pose. The caption reads "PORTRAIT OF THE MAN WHO WOULD PREFER A SHORT WIFE AND A MERRY ONE." This is a genteel romantic satire about male preferences in marriage. The joke targets men who claim to want wives who are both physically small ("short") and cheerful ("merry")—suggesting such men are deluded or pursuing an impossible ideal. The woman's dramatic, almost acrobatic posture humorously illustrates the contortions required to satisfy such contradictory demands. The "Society Notes" section below announces an upcoming wedding for Miss Alice Amy Goldmine and Mr. Heritage Doolittle, satirizing wealthy marriages through obviously symbolic names suggesting money and aristocratic pretense. The small photograph ("Cupid Encounters a Patty Heart") is captioned but unclear in meaning.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Lerrriat, 1902, by Life Pubisding Oo PORTRAIT OP THE MAN WHO WOULD PREPEN A SHORT WIPE AND A MERRY ONE. Society Notes. ‘HE most notable event of the week will be the wedding of Miss Alice Amy Goldmine and Mr. Heritage Doolittle. The bride's gown, which is plain but handsome, is of unregistered Government bonds with a deep flounce of coupons. Tho corsage is of Standard Oil certificates, and the veil of real dividends is caught up with a large certified check. Z She will carry a gold-mounted bank- (*** book and a bouquet of thousand dollar bills, A special safe deposit vault has been built for the presents which, beside the usual dog-collars, necklaces and tiaras, include a gold coal-scuttle from Mrs. Ami Innit,asilver hat- rack with turquoise pegs from Mr. and Mrs. Splurgeon Getton, and a gold bath tub with diamond toilet appurte- nances from Mrs, I. M. Itt, a sister of the groom. CUPLD ENCOUNTERS A FATTY HEART. comicbooks.com