Life — November 23, 1911 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Are You a Good Boy?" This 1911 *Life* magazine illustration by Wallace Nutting depicts a woman in an elegant white gown addressing a young boy in formal attire. The caption "Are You a Good Boy?" suggests social commentary on child-rearing and behavioral expectations during the Edwardian era. The satire likely mocks contemporary parenting practices and gender dynamics—the woman's commanding posture and the boy's smaller stature emphasize adult authority and childhood subordination. The formal dress of both figures suggests this is about maintaining social propriety and middle-class respectability. Without additional context from the issue, the precise target of satire remains unclear, but it appears to critique conventional attitudes toward childhood obedience and social conditioning in early 20th-century America.