Life, 1913-05-29 · page 31 of 44
Life — May 29, 1913 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece parodies the Declaration of Independence by imagining husbands collectively "divorcing" their wives. The text mimics the formal language of the founding document, replacing political grievances with marital complaints. The joke centers on the claim that "all husbands were created equal; their inequality comes from the difference in the respective abilities of their wives"—inverting typical gender hierarchies by sarcastically blaming wives for husbands' varying success. The piece then grants husbands the "right" to cease loving their wives if love becomes tedious. This appears to be commentary on contemporary gender tensions, likely from an era when women's increasing independence (possibly suffrage-related, given the "NO MORE EGGS UNTIL WE GET THE VOTE" illustration on the facing page) was shifting domestic power dynamics. The satire mocks both marital dissatisfaction and the rhetorical language men might use to justify abandoning their marriages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Ideal Year to Visit HOLLAND THE PICTURESQUE Tee Centenary of the Restoration of Holland's Independence Tioe celebrated this summer by Interesting exhibitions and FESTIVITIES IN 30 TOWNS Indading the Inauguration of the Peace Palace at The Hague. ming Middelburg. the Gem City of Holland. Ye ll t i customs, should be a AITHFUL = ellowstone sence meniers 315 oe M4 minocataineineiphe ofa rene vonctc ce ut see | Alla National Park pec Sons fag Route, 334 Fifth Ave ‘ew York. & @See it this summer---season June —— <5 5 15-Sept. 15. Excursion fares for the NO-MORE EGGS th , Park trip by itself or in connection =UNTILWE 7: hy | with Pacific Coast trips. 7 by @Jaunts of one, two or more days 4 (complete tour of 6 days for only $55.50), in Yellowstone Park will give you experiences to be gained nowhere else on earth! Low Summer Tourist and Convention Tickets @To North Pacific Coast and California, the former on sale daily June to September, the latter on certain dates, Through sleeping cars direct to Gardiner Gateway, the original and northern Yellowstone Park entrance, from Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and from the Pacific Coast, daily during season. Gardiner is reached only via Northern Pacific. Write for details and plan your trip now. Address: A.M. CLELAND, Geol Pass'r A¢t., St. Paul, Minn, Northern Pacific Ry Panama-Pacifie Expo., San Francisco, 1915 MOUNTAINS of New Hampshire The most superb mountain scenery eastof the Rockies; fragrant, wonder- ' ful woods, forest-hidden streams - - « A * 2 and lakes— four hundred square miles. OLD FAPTHFUL INN Une of the five Superb Hotels Gay Summer Colonies = sassia Vallewstone Park Linked together by perfect roads for motoring, riding and driving. aplonntat air that makes you glad to be . . nves ; Husband’s Declaration of Independence Golf links and tennis courts on the very roof of New England. EN, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one man to dissolve the Every other kind of outdoor sport. estic bands which have connected him with a woman, and to assume ami his Delightful social gayeties — dancing, peers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of wre teas, theatricals, nature’s God entitle him, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that he should tractive people to my are ses. mpe i sepa ot allparts of the country Magni declare the causes which impel him to the separation, ceat hotels, famous for their cui- All husbands were created equal; their inequality comes from the difference in the re- wh eenrmiNg boarding houses spective abilities of their wives. A just regard, therefore, for the fecling of mankind requires Send for FREE BOOKLETS that they should be permitted to love something es if it is no longer ierening fod cx: Address Vacation Burean pedient for them to love their wives, then we hold that they are entitled to break loose in manner hereinafter to be determined The New England Lines ‘All'those in favor please say aye, contrary no. The ayes have it and we will now proceed Reem 774, So.Station,Boston,Mass. ; to the business in hand. comicbooks.com