Life — September 3, 1903 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a single romantic illustration from *Life* magazine (page 229). The image depicts a moonlit beach scene with two silhouetted figures—a couple sitting together watching the moon over water. The dialogue reveals the cartoon's joke about engagement and romance. The man says thinking of their engagement feels like "witchcraft," and the woman responds she feels "like one possessed"—a humorous double meaning. She's playing on "possessed" as both emotionally overwhelmed by love and literally possessed (as if by witchcraft), continuing his metaphor. The satire is gentle, poking fun at how romantic engagement can feel magical or supernatural to those experiencing it. This reflects early-20th-century attitudes toward courtship, where expressions of love were often coded in dramatic, mystical language.