Life, 1909-11-11 · page 14 of 36
Life — November 11, 1909 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page from Life magazine contains several joke items reflecting early 1900s concerns: **"An Arctic Forecast"** mocks men's competitive polar exploration races by suggesting women's suffrage will make these efforts seem trivial—a contemporary dig at the women's voting rights movement. **The corset joke** between "Mrs. Howard" and "Mr. Daygoods" puns on fashion constraints: the "immovable body" references women's heavily corseted figures, suggesting corsets are so restrictive they create an "immovable object." **"Reasons for Divorce"** addresses rising divorce rates (reportedly triple a generation prior). The piece attributes this to declining patriarchal authority—men can no longer demand obedience from wives as they once did. This reflects anxiety about traditional family hierarchy weakening, presented as society's "decline" rather than women's emancipation. The giant duck-shaped airship cartoon's meaning is unclear from context alone. All content reflects upper-class anxieties about women's changing social roles and authority structures around 1912.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MEK STEADY COMPANY An Arctic Forecast L ST men delight to bark and bite Their strife o'er polar goals Will fade to insignificance When women reach the polls An Acrestic Canned culture Harsh hyperbole Mow capi Adulterated a RS. HOWARD: They say there isn't any such thing as an immovable body Me. Deycooos: Hm! I guess they haven't scen anyone in our latest corset. LL of us think quantities of thoughts. It is the quality that ABOUT 1912 LAUNCHING A WaRSHIP Reasons for Divorce UR neighbor the World wants to know. Remarking that the Bureau of Labor at Washington has established the fact that divorces are three times more numerous now than they were a generation “ many of the younger renders them incapable of matrimonial happiness? Why so many divorces? First, because of the decline of authority. Everybody in this country wants to be his own boss, and is so, as far as possible. Nobody wants to obey unless obedience matches inclination. The ancient superstition that the husband is the head of the family and his wife must mind him is thor- “THE TICKER”? oughly exploded. Hushands nowadays seldom demand or ex- comicbooks.com