Life, 1904-12-08 · page 5 of 24
Life — December 8, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page critiques women's fashion and health through satirical commentary and illustration. The main cartoon depicts a fashionable outdoor market or gathering scene, likely satirizing women's attendance at social events. The text attacks women's fashion choices as unhealthful, particularly corsets ("the graceful boa-constrictor") that restrict breathing and digestion. It argues that even wealthy women cannot afford both stylish dress and good health, while poor women suffer worst—having spent money on clothes, they lack funds for food. The "Signs" section includes a brief joke about a wife making the house "unfit for anyone to live in," suggesting marital discord humor typical of the era. The overall message criticizes how fashion priorities damage women's physical wellbeing across social classes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“© For Dogs and Cats.’’ ROUND the new, low fountains The P. C. autocrats Have placed a sign of wisdom That reads: ** For Dogs and Cats.” Will it catch the eye of puppies Or kittens, do you thiok, And lure them from destruction Toa strictly harmless drink ? Or will the knowing sparrow, In thankful attitude, Spy this and flit, remarking, “ Beg pardon, I intrude”? Do they expect the bison, The sprightly kangaroo, The graceful boa-constrictor, Will want to drink there, too ? Or must the yak and emu, On little city bats, Be barred from this refreshment Designed ** For Dogs and Cats" ? Katherine 1. Mead. Qos “NOTHING DOING.” Unhealthfulness. HOSE who point the accusing finger at woman’s garb and charge it with being unhealthful are not without just grounds, Woman's garb is indeed unhealthful. Only the very richest women can afford both to dress and to be operated on. Of the middle class, there is now and. then a woman brave enough to prefer being a frump to retaining all her viscera, but the great majority will choose to be in style, and for the rest, to suffer, except as they may take ad- vantage of free clinics. Among the poor the case is even worse, Nothing could be more preju- dicial to health than the condition of the woman who, after having paid for her clothes, has nothing left for carfare. For if her shoes match her hat and frock, she cannot possibly walk in a graceful manner without straining im- portant muscles. Moreover, worrying for fear people will not attribute her husband's wearing his old hat to eccentricity in the end affects her digestion. In general, the inability of woman's garb to hang from the shoulders and look like anything has to be con- sidered. Signs. I guess my wife expects G** BOY: callers to-day, “ What makes you think so?"" “She began the day by making the house unfit for anyone to live in, comicbooks.com