Life, 1902-11-20 · page 3 of 22
Life — November 20, 1902 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Main Illustration:** The cartoon depicts a couple on a couch with a man standing nearby. The caption reads: "Now that we are to be married, we must begin to save. Promise me you will do nothing you cannot afford. But in that case, I would have to break off the engagement." **Meaning:** This is social satire about marriage and financial expectations. The joke plays on the contradiction between the bride's demands for thrift and the groom's recognition that maintaining a marriage to someone with such expensive tastes is financially impossible. The humor targets both the materialistic expectations women were stereotyped as having and the economic pressures on men to support wives' spending habits—a common theme in early 20th-century satirical magazines like *Life*. The accompanying poems ("My Shir" and literary note about Roy Rolfe Gilson) appear separate from the cartoon's satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
o h the e and aders, book, 7.50. ror of “An s the $7.50. nator anish ower ER. $7.50. and trated $7.50. She: NOW THAT WH ARE TO BE MARRIED, WH MUST BEOIN To SAVE. PROMISE ME YOU WILL DO NOTUING YOU CANNOT aFPoRD. “RUT IN THAT CASE, 1 WOULD HAVE TO BREAK OP THE ENGAGEMENT.” My Ship. (SONG OF A PESSIMIST.) ,, WONDER when the day will come 22 For which I've waited long, ‘SF When all my sorrowing is done 2} And life is one glad song, 4 When every debt is off the slate, 3} My promises made true, ? When I'll be good and wise and great 2 And have a cent or two; When care and grief have passed away And peace and joy begin : Upon the glad and happy day When my fair ship comes in. I sit beside the restless sea And list the billows roar, To wonder when they'll bring to me The bliss I'm waiting for; But as I call to mind how fate Pursues her fickle way, And usually brings too late The gifts for which we pray, I sigh and bow my weary head To hide my deep chagrin — I know I'll be a long time dead When that old ship comes in. John Wallis Clearman, Literary Note. OY ROLFE GILSON, author of Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle, Brother, Sis- ter, and the rest of the family, has en- tered into partnership with Martha Farquharson, the well-known author- _ ess of Elsie Dinsmore, Elsie’s Father, Elsic's Schooldays, Elsie’s Holidays, Elsic's. Marriage, Grandmother Elsie, Elsic's Widowhood, Elsie’s Second Child- hood, and others. The first result of this notable literary union of minds is likely to be a family serial. . comicbooks.com