Life, 1904-12-01 · page 28 of 64
Life — December 1, 1904 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This story satirizes the stereotypical wife who exploits her husband's Christmas gift request to justify extravagant shopping. The "fair young wife" asks what he desires for Christmas, but rather than buy *him* a gift, she interprets his answer as permission to purchase expensive items for herself—a dress, furs, a hat, and a photograph—while instructing shopkeepers to "send the bill to my husband." The joke targets women's perceived materialism and manipulative spending habits. Each tradesperson (dressmaker, furrier, milliner, photographer) encourages increasingly costly selections, and the wife accepts them all. The final irony: the renowned portrait photographer charges $500 per dozen photographs, subverting her attempt at economy. The satire reflects early 20th-century anxieties about women's consumer power and marital finances, presenting the wife as clever but mercenary—turning a gift-giving occasion into a scheme for personal indulgence at her husband's expense.
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Enel 540 The Heart of Woman. & Ss FAIR young wife asked her hus- GANAS and what he desired above all nt. an astute else for a Christmas pr The husband, bet and cautious man, thought deeply What could he suggest which she would deem worthy of her bestowal, and which should yet be of a mini- mum cost? Inspiration came “T would suggest,” said the dr maker, “a gown of aubergine velvet with café au lait lace and touches of vanilla satin. I should combine the 3 nd Directoire modes with an inclination toward the Mousquetaire. Here is brought over.” “Lovely!” cried the fair young wife. ‘'Make me one just like it and send the bill to my husband.” sweet model I have just “Of course not. Send the bill to my husband.” Then she went to a furrier. “I want some picturesque-looking furs with one of the enormous mui The furrier bowed. ‘'This sable set is one of the best things we have. It is worth a king’s ransom.” “That will do,” murmured the wife. “Send the bill to my husband.” When she finally obtained an audi- “A new photog darling.” “Just the thing,” aph of yourself, replied the wife. “But please forget that you have sug- gested it, for I wish my gift to be a real surprise.”” ‘o photograph can begin to por- your loveliness," he said fondly. his one shall,” she replied with emphasis, Then she hastened to a great modiste and explained her er- rand. UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS. She next sought her milliner. ‘I wish,” she said, ‘a stunning picture hat in which to have my photograph taken.” “Here is a fascinating thing in the sunset-blend hues," responded the milliner. ‘It is made up in peri- winkle, havana, and copper-tawny velvets on a Romney shape with the Gainsborough sweep. Ah—h! Ma- dame is too beautiful for words in it. She cannot afford not to take it.” ence with the great portrait photogra- pher, he yas inclined to be a little difficult. ‘‘Of course,” he said lan- guidly, “there are only a few people I will take; but there is something in your face, a subtle hint of—an inde- finable suggestion of—an er—er—Yes, I will take your photograph.” “Your price will not be over five hundred dollars?” she asked diffi- dently. “For a dozen, no,” he replied coldly. comicbooks.com