Life, 1909-01-21 · page 5 of 28
Life — January 21, 1909 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page critiques gender roles and domestic labor through Charlotte Perkins Gilman's commentary titled "Half the Truth." Gilman, a prominent social reformer, argues that the traditional division of labor—where women work unpaid at home while men earn wages outside—is fundamentally unfair. She challenges the notion that women are merely "servants" to their families, asserting instead that domestic work should be recognized as genuine labor deserving compensation or respect. The accompanying illustrations and brief anecdotes (about a Carnegie heroine and a Philadelphia trip) appear designed to reinforce her argument about the undervalued nature of women's household contributions. This reflects early 20th-century feminist discourse questioning traditional domestic arrangements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Half the Truth RS. CHARLOTTE PER- KINS GILMAN, speaking at a sociological conven- tion at Atlantic City, on . December 29, said : ~The house is a place where the man has his meals cooked and served by the woman; his general cleaning and mend- ing done by her; she is his servant." Would it not be just as fair and ac- curate to say: The house is where the woman and the young children live and have their meals, while the man is out at work earning money for their mainte- nance. He is their servant? The truth is that in most families the THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE woman works at home, the man away from home, and each is the servant of the other. Ought to Have One Hey. about a Carnegie heroine medal for Agnes Lockwood, the three- year-old New York girl who was almost scalded to death rescuing her doll from a tub of hot water?—Louisville Couricr- Journal. will go to Philadelphia soon in fifteen minutes.”* “ Philadelphia? What for? ’’ Lona faces make short lives. The Kingbira: comicbooks.com