Life — August 23, 1906 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Premeditated Proxy" This page satirizes courtship and romantic strategy among the wealthy. The main story features Van Twiller advising his friend Castleton on how to approach a woman named Sandhurst. Castleton is anxious about proper conduct, fearing missteps. Twiller counsels patience and "delicate advances," suggesting Castleton use Twiller himself as an intermediary—a "proxy"—to introduce himself safely and gauge her interest first. The two cartoons below mock marriage motivations: the left shows a couple who married for perceived wealth (neither actually had money); the right depicts a remarriage between divorced parties, suggesting they wed again out of familiarity rather than genuine affection. Both captions humorously undercut romantic ideals with financial or practical reality.