Life, 1913-06-05 · page 29 of 52
Life — June 5, 1913 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks early 20th-century wedding culture and gender dynamics. Two illustrations contrast "the kind of girl a man marries" (demure, decorative) with "the kind of wife he expects her to be" (practical, commanding). The accompanying dialogue humorously depicts a couple planning another couple's honeymoon. The satire targets how modern engaged couples have become so consumed with wedding logistics and social conventions that they've lost romance entirely—they're too busy arranging flowers, acknowledgment cards, and ushers' pins to actually enjoy each other or their own honeymoon. The husband's exasperation ("I never would marry you") and the wife's bossy corrections reveal how marriage, by this era, has become a business transaction focused on proper social appearances rather than intimacy or companionship. The joke undercuts both romantic notions of marriage and the contemporary obsession with perfect wedding details.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE KIND OF A GIRL A MAN MARRIES * HEN do we start on our honcy- moon?” I said to Mollie. “You mean theirs,” said Mollie, pouting. “I wish you wouldn't be so careless; some one might think —” “Of course,” I replied, somewhat hotly, “it would be a terrible thing, wouldn't it, for any one to think that we were going on a honeymoon? You needn't be alarmed; I wouldn't go on a honeymoon with you for——” “Wait till you're asked! You have no right to talk to me that way.” “Well! You ought to understand, when you and I are making all the ar- rangements for the honeymoon that Cyd and Bess are going to take, it is perfectly proper to refer to the affair as ours. That's only the business way of putting it. It’s customary One Wedding—To Order “We start on our honeymoon to- morrow evening at 815,” said Mollie, conceding the point by conforming to the rule. “Have you tables?” “T have.” “Are you right?” “Here they are. Check off the trains for yourself. Now you must engage the accommodations.” I came back in an hour. the railroad company. “It's a funny idea,” I said, shuffling over the railroad tickets and reserva- tions, “this making honeymoon ar- rangements for others. When I was a boy—" “You stupid! looked up the time sure you've got ‘em T had seen You're way behind THE KIND OF A WIFE HE the times. Your trotting is enough to condemn you anyway. Don’t you know nowadays that the bride and groom are too busy even to see each other for ecks and weeks before they are mar- ried. And as for talking things over, and making plans——” “That’s why I never would marry you,” I said calmly. “I couldn't bear to be parted from you so long. Now let's go over the whole itinerary. Leave Grand Central at 815; arrive Niagara following morning; from there——" “Never mind all that. Here's the wedding programme, which is much more important. Let's check that off first—Ushers’ pins, ties, wedding ring, rice, church cards, acknowledgments.” knowledgments!"T cried. “ You (Continued on page 1138) comicbooks.com