Life — March 2, 1905 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical poem titled "Another Cinderella" by Frank Milburn, accompanied by illustrations by James Montgomery Flagg. The satire mocks romantic idealism and appeals to male sacrifice. The poem presents a woman complaining that men won't kiss her, calling on "college youths" to volunteer for romantic service—to "Arms" and to teach "hapless maidens how to kiss." The illustrated figures show a fashionably-dressed woman surrounded by attentive men on the left, and a lonely woman standing apart on the right. The satire ridicules both the entitlement of women expecting male devotion and the broader cultural anxiety about young men's willingness to commit to traditional romantic roles during this era. The "Cinderella" reference suggests a fairy-tale expectation of rescue or devotion that Milburn presents as absurd.