Life, 1912-03-28 · page 17 of 50
Life — March 28, 1912 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes widespread anxiety in early 20th-century America through a fictional "Association of American Tremblers." The cartoon depicts a giant figure casting a shadow over tiny people below, illustrating the pervasive nature of fear. The satire targets multiple anxieties: financial instability, health crises, marital discord, and social uncertainty. The featured letter exemplifies the primary joke—husbands' fear of their wives. The anonymous writer claims his beautiful, vivacious wife terrifies him despite his material efforts to support her, capturing a common domestic tension of the era. The organization promises to unite people by their specific fears—secret shudderers, those afraid of destitution, illness, job loss at old age. The satire's point: fear is so universal and varied that nearly every American (estimated 90 million members) could join. By treating neurosis as a legitimate social club, Life mocks both contemporary anxiety culture and the era's emerging focus on psychological "conditions."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Do you fear exposure?” All Cowards Take Notice! National Fear Day Appointed—American Tremblers Organize, and Hereafter All Who Are Afraid of Death Will Have a Place to Shudder In Aft you afraid of everything? Do you toss on a sleepless couch? And are you the prey of secret ter- rors that haunt you day and night? li so, rejoice. The Association of American Tremblers has just been formed, and hereafter all kinds of cowards will receive the attention they deserve. It is estimated that inside of six weeks the membership of the Ameri- can Tremblers’ Association will be fully 90,000,000. In other words, every American citizen will belong. The idea of the association is to enable everybody to express his or her fears. A large part of the membership— probably a majority—will be taken up by men who are afraid of their wives. Do you sceretly tremble when you hear your wife’s voice in the distance? Do you smile and rejoice in her pres- ence, when in your heart you are nour- ishing all kinds of awful fears that she will find you out? Here is a let- ter just received which will voice the sentiment of a great many of our pros- pective members “Dear Sirs "Being a married man, I take great leasure in joining the Association of Tremblers. I have long since made peace with God, but my wife—who is beautiful, vivacious and extremely pl ant person to all who know her—in- spires me with the greatest dread. The only way that I can account for it is that she is on the job day and night, while I have other things to consider! for example, making enough money to keep her in clothes and millinery. The result of it is that I never know when Iam going to do something that will get her going; and thus being on my guard and unprepared, I am in a_ miserable frame of mind almost all the time. The worst of it is that I have to preserve the appearance of outward vivaciousness and chcerfulness, not only in her presence but in the presence of others, for my ex- perience has been that if I'am doleful in the presence of others and intimate by my bearing and presence that things 633 arc not as well at home as they ought to be, in some indefinable way she finds st out. Please, therefore, don’t let any- body know that I am joining your asso- ciation. If my wife should hear of it, Heaven help me! But I am with you heart and soul. Among all the tremblers of America, I feel that I am the chief onc. I am sending this anonymously for obvious reasons. “Yours faithfully “ Man-Apratp-or-His-Wire.”” Our various departments are rapidly being organized, and no matter what your particular kind of fear we shall be able to place you in conjunc- tion with congenial spirits. We have just started a room for secret shudderers. Have you got into the habit of shuddering at everything? At the pos: ity that the cook may leave to-morrow morning? At the thought that you haven't paid all your bills, and some of your creditors may suc you? At the possibility that you will gradually lose all your money and friends and will have to walk the streets when you get to be eighty years old looking for a job? At the strong probability that you may have appendicitis at any moment and be operated on by the Surgeon General of the United States and an army of specialists at enormous expense, and that you may be an invalid all the rest of your life? No matter what may be your particular form of fear, if you are an expert shudderer, come and shudder with us. We cannot cure you, but we can surround you with sympathetic spirits. Or possibly you may be a mutterer. Do you mutter to yourself during the still watches of the night as you toss upon a sleepless couch while grim goblins haunt your restless bedside? Do you mutter to yourself as you walk down Broadway, looking fearfully be- hind you ever and anon to see if your arch enemy is after you? Do you fj Jove rou ararc!{ “4 \——— “Do you secretly tremble when you hear your wife's voice?” comicbooks.com