Life, 1906-11-08 · page 8 of 30
Life — November 8, 1906 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes late 19th/early 20th-century attitudes toward marriage and divorce. The central narrative concerns "Bill," a man facing marital dissolution. A preacher condemns divorce as "the world's worst evil" (worse than remarriage), while ironically suggesting the woman bears blame for her husband's infidelity. The satirical point: the hypocrisy of religious and legal institutions that theoretically condemn divorce yet blame women for marital failure, denying them equal rights. The caption "Preserve the best of Woman's Rights—The right of being weak" drips with sarcasm, mocking how society infantilizes women while holding them responsible for men's behavior. The imagery of death and remarriage as "insurance" mocks the grim calculus women faced legally and socially when trapped in bad marriages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ay oboe “PRESERVE THE. BEST OF WOMAN'S RIGHTS— THE RIGHT OF BEING WEAK" The preacher grew aghast, aghaster ; He cried, “Are you insane ? are you thus address your pastor? ¢ I praught in vain? “I've thundered till my throat was hoarse At justice’s miscarriage. The world’s worst evil is DIVORC Except one wors “God chastens whom He loveth well, Your husband does the same. If he’s unfaithful—who can tell? Perhaps you are to blame. “AT LEAST UNLESS THE LORD AT LAST SHOULD SUuMON BILL ABOVE” “Go home and pray; and if Bill smites, Just turn the other cheek. Preserve the best of Woman's Rights— The right of being weak. “And then if Bill does not repent After a year’s probation, Perhaps we'll graciously consent To legal separation. “ But, howsoever you're estranged, Think twice before you travel; Our wedding goods are not exchanged, However they unravel. “HOWEVER SPOUSES GROW UNENAMORED THE SACRAMENT REMAINS" “At least, unless the Lord at last Should summon Bill above; Then, if you also have not passed, You're allowed another love— “In fact, as fast as husbands dic As long as you've endurance But while one lives, it won't apply; It’s something like insurance. “ Body-and-soul, you are Bill Baker's On this side of the tomb. It’s not my job, but an undertaker's, To mitigate your doom.” These words the woman did astound. She gasped, ‘Is this religion ? To trap the rabbit for the hound, To snare and cage the pigcon! comicbooks.com