Life, 1907-08-22 · page 5 of 24
Life — August 22, 1907 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page critiques women's fashion and social constraints of the early 20th century. **"The Unembellished One"** is a poem mocking how society adorns women with virtues (modesty, innocence, fidelity, duty, etc.) like decorative garments, suggesting these are artificial impositions rather than genuine qualities. **"Civilized"** section ridicules women's restrictive fashion—corsets, high heels, and steel frames that literally deform the body and restrict breathing. The accompanying illustration shows a woman suspended by multiple balloons, visually representing how fashion constrains and distorts her. **"Why Go to the Mountains?"** advertises a "captive cottage" as an alternative vacation, sarcastically depicting women's elaborate ornamentation (cosmetics, jewelry, dyes, feathers) and constrained appearance. The overall message critiques how civilization supposedly "improves" women through restrictive fashion and artificial adornment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Unembellished One RAPE me with a fig-leaf, said Pru- dery. Decorate me with epaulets, said Me- diocrity. Clothe me in the robes of righteous- ness, said Sin. Deck me with the garments of inno- cence, said Vice. Put sincerity’s gown upon my shoul- ders, said Deceit. Place the crown of fidelity on my brow, said Disloyalty. Cover me with the draperies of love, said Lust. Give me the staff of tolerance, said Persecution. Adorn me with the cloak of liberty, said Tyranny. Beautify me with the dress of duty, said Irresponsibility. Garb me with the habiliments of hu- mility, said Pride. Then Truth said: Let me be naked and unashamed. Victor Robinson. Civilized EE the Woman! She has step-ladder, corkscrew heels on her shoes and has squeezed her feet into a pair several sizes too small; and she locks as if she was going to fall for- ward and be deformed some more. She is having a continuous struggle with the law of gravitation. She has a steel frame about her upper part and has compressed her waist so that ES, POOR ROVER WAS CAUGHT BY THE BUTCHER. Pugdoodle: NOW 1 SUPPOSE WE MAY EX- PECT THE WURST. WHY CO TO THE MOUNTAINS > “RENT ONE OF OUR CAPTIVE COTTAGES DURING THE HEATED SEASON. LIFE AERIAL COMPAN IMPROVEMENTS. it looks like the small end of a funnel, and she can hardly breathe, and her internal anatomy has shifted quarters, and there are several jobs ahead for the family doc- tor. And she don’t know why she feels “poorly” most of the time. She is pinned, tied, laced and braced. She uses cosmetics, hair dyes, paints, powders, belladonna to brighten her eyes, and all manner of false and uncomforta- ble things are on and about her from her head down ALL MODERN SEND FOR CATALOGUE” She has rings on her fingers, bangles on her wrists, a chain about her neck, many trinkets on her breast, and her blood has to struggle for circulation. She has birds and gay-colored plumes and feathers on her hat, and she weareth many colors. She is not what she was created but is what she has created. Is the Woman a Savage? No—she is the Flower of Civilization! Henry Waldor} Francis. comicbooks.com