Life, 1911-12-21 · page 24 of 44
Life — December 21, 1911 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early 20th-century social anxieties about women's changing roles. The main article mocks "modern" Christmas gifts for girls, including toy ballot boxes and suffragette speech kits—ridiculing the women's suffrage movement by suggesting it corrupts childhood innocence. The "Divorce" card game parodies wealthy society's perceived moral decline, depicting infidelity and marital dissolution as entertainment for children. The "Home" game sardonically shows a girl immediately spending money, reinforcing stereotypes about female frivolousness. The cartoon "The Suspect" (top) appears to show an elderly man regarded with suspicion by children and a dog—likely commenting on generational conflict or moral disapproval, though the specific reference is unclear. The final anecdote about the boy wanting elastic stockings for Christmas as a gift reflects Depression-era poverty, contrasting sharply with the article's focus on wealthy frivolity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
— For the Modern Little Girl HE up-to-date lassie is not expected to content herself with the dolls and things which pleased the girl of long ago. For her the shops show Christmas gifts designed to harmonize with the thought of the modern mother, Neat little ballot boxes, with minia- ture ballots, are displayed for the chil- dren of Suffragettes. With the set goes a toy soap box, on which the little girl may stand at the curb and recite a Suffragette speech, which is also printed for her in a cunning book which replaces the old-fashioned nur- sery jingles. A clever new game for the children THE SUSPECT “a's min!” of the upper ten is named “ Divore It is a three-handed game, played by two little boys and one little girl. One boy is “husband” and the little girl is “ wife,” while the other little boy is “friend.” The winner is the one who draws two cards marked “decree” and “alimony.” The boy playing “friend” does not do anything but shuffle the cards. Another joyous game is called “Home.” It is played with a little pocketbook full of money. The boy hands the purse to the girl and she goes out at once. The instructive side is not over- looked. A beautifully bound booklet, much the size and appearance of a prayer book, is called “ How to Know the Nobility.” It contains full infor- mation as to the relative importance and value of princes, dukes, lords and so forth, with the approximate cost of each. Wonderful Possibilities (Boy, looking in store window con- taining surgical goods) “(CY EE! If I had the price I'd get one of those elastic stockings to hang up for Christmas. “ AX Tommie, has your poor mother sprained her ankle?” “Yes'm, but it’s all right. She bought all our Christmas presents first.” comicbooks