Life, 1903-12-11 · page 3 of 20
Life — December 11, 1903 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts three well-dressed men examining dolls on a table, captioned "Which" and titled "Her Reasons." The satire appears to target women's consumer behavior and marriage choices—specifically satirizing women as objects to be evaluated like commodities. The poem "Her Reasons" mocks a woman who married poorly, describing her as vain and materialistic ("She wears a dress...it cost no less than ninety-five thousands"). The right column, "From a Society Woman's Diary," contains brief, sharp observations about upper-class female behavior—critiquing women who wear excessive diamonds and the French character. The overall message is misogynistic satire typical of early-20th-century Life magazine: women are superficial consumers and poor judges of character in marriage. The humor relies on negative stereotypes about female vanity and judgment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
wed Her Reasons. HE bought a hat—plain, prim and flat— ith feathers trained on wiltingly; It hid her eyes like a disguise And touched one ear tiptilting! A homely thing of straw and string, And yet she proudly flaunted it. ‘Twas all made clear by her “0, dear! Another woman wanted it!” Fe s— it cost no less simoleons ; She wears a de Than ninety-fiv It’s faded tan, and looser than That great-coat of Napoleon's; It puckers so, and flares as though Some dismal spirit haunted it ; It has no style— but she will smile : “Another woman wanted it! WHICH Of bric-a-brac she has no lack, And still she’s always buying more ; Weird wall designs and ugly steins ; Strange foods—she's always trying more. Once to her flat she brought a cat— A fake Maltese. We taunted her. She sighed : “I know I'm beat, but, O. Another woman wanted her!" Her married life is naught but strife— But what's the use to moralize? “He” has an awe-inspiring jaw And “ I-delight-to-quarrel”” eyes. Threats of divorce or shows of force Have never even daunted him, And she'll confess: “Well, I's Another woman wanted him D. Nesbit. id ‘ Yes '— From a Society Woman's Diary. TJ DON'T like the custom of not wear- ing diamonds in the morning. It is un-American; a woman can wear twice as many diamonds when she is fresh from sleep as she can after she is all fa; Ursule suggests that I husband my strength by eating less, but that would be un-American, too. Ursule is French ; clever, but hope- lessly apart from our point of view. EY to him who evil drinks. comicbooks.com