Life, 1906-09-06 · page 31 of 40
Life — September 6, 1906 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Narrative (Left Column):** This page contains a dialogue between a man and woman discussing marriage and religious belief. The man identifies as non-religious ("infidel, atheist, agnostic")—though he claims to hold personal beliefs from life experience. The woman, raised Christian, argues she cannot marry him because their fundamental values conflict, particularly regarding raising children. She insists shared religious conviction is essential for marriage stability, citing her brother John's moral failures as evidence of how parental disagreement harms offspring. **The Satire:** The piece satirizes turn-of-the-century religious anxiety and courtship conventions. It mocks rigid Christian doctrine by showing how strict adherence to faith actually prevents marriage, while also gently ridiculing the non-believer's evasiveness about his actual philosophy. **The Advertising:** The majority of the page comprises a Pompeian Massage Cream advertisement using pseudo-scientific language about skin as "porous fabric" requiring special cleansing—typical early 20th-century marketing that treated cosmetics as quasi-medical necessities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
W q “No—not in the sense you mean.” “But if you will make a good husband and father—as, of course, I believe you must—it will be because of the fact that you have been frought up as a Christian and imbibed all the morality that a Christian civilization has taught you. And now you wish to repudiate it all. But you cannot help yourself.” “Then why let it make any difference? I can assure you that I will not interfere with you in any way. You can love your church, and jour religion, and you can bring your children ap in the way you desire.” “But have you no belief of your own?” “Not in the sense you mean—yet I have a telief of my own.” She turned to him triumphantly. “Then it cannot be so good as the oné I have, aherwise you would insist upon it in preference ty mine. How can I marry you when it is all one-sided as that, and what would our children tink? It is hard enough to do right; to keep fom sin and temptation. Look at my brother John, how we all struggled over him, and yet he meat the wrong way in spite of us. How, then, aa you expect children who see their own parents disagree to be brought up as they sould be ?”* “But if you look at the matter in that way, marriage might be hopeless. If your er John has turned out so poorly, how Jd we, even if we were both one in our lief hope to have the result of our marriage zy better? Do you not see that these matters we may not determine for ourselves? Perhaps if vat brother John had had parents who did not we he might have turned out better—he mah have been more independent and courage- in his thought and have seen early in life ‘at virtue is its own reward, and not have hit associated with a lot of unnecessary cere- igs. “But there is something more than life to kek forward to. 4 Her hand trembled as she laid it on his arm. “Are you,” she asked, “an”—— The word failed her. “An infidel, an ath an agnostic?” he No, not in the sense you mean it. I have bdiei—the result of my life’s experience. that if you understood it you would rset it, But I cannot explain it to you, azse to do so would involve going over thole field of thought. And it does not seem meraary! “You are afraid to do so. thant you are wrong.” \ . But I am willing to have you think wrong. It shall be your task, if you wish ‘9 convert me back to your own belief. In meantime cannot we afford to forget all s? We love each other. Is that not enough?” * put his arm about her. But she drew “nelf away, “N You know that she s id. “No, no. It is not enough. 1 marry you. It would be wrong.” ou love me?” “Yes—oh, yes.” “You must?” nnot. It.is against my life, my belief— “Are you a Christian?” Consider the skin as a porous fabric, Do you cleanse it as a fabric, or merely wash it off as would a china you plate? Pompeian Massage Cream takes away soreness after shaving. allays the irritation so distressing to those whom a thick, fast-growing beard makes constant shaving a necessity. For gentlewomen it is the most wholesome and beneficial toilet preparation ever devised. induce the growth of hair. To Get the Skin thoroughly Clean the dirt must be worked out—the skin must be kneaded just as you would knead a cloth garment in the tub. Pompeian Massage Cream is first rubbed into the pores, loosening the dirt imbedded in them, then it is rubbed out, bringing the dirt with it, removing the cause of the sallow, life- less complexions, restoring the healthy circulation, taking away the wrinkles, and animating the tissues. For men, Generous Sample Mailed Free Also a complete book on Facial Massage. We prefer you to buy TAts ts the Jar the darter buys of your dealer whenever possible. Do not accept a substitute for Pompeian under any circum. stances. If your dealer dues not keep it, send us his name, and we will send a 50c, or $1.00 jar of the cream postpaid on receipt of price. POMPEIAN MFG. CO. 25 Prospect Street, Cleveland, Ohio Jes well to wash with Pomprian Massage Soap byore applying the Cream. All drug gists, Box of 3 cakes, $00. By removing the soap from the pores, it It contains no grease, leaves no shine, and does not (can not) Makes the use of toilet powder unnecessary. This ts the far the druggist sells for home use, 4 then, there is father. ‘Think ?”” Q Are you fumishing a House or Decorating a Room? @ Have you wall spaces or spots which you wish to make artistically effective at small cost? GA dainty catalogue showing in miniature reproductions many of Life's Prints will be sent to any address on receipt of ten cents. LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 17 West 3lst Stree, NEW YORK 267 Life’s Pictures are Appropriate comicbooks.com