Life, 1913-06-19 · page 11 of 52
Life — June 19, 1913 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the common domestic dilemma of leaving a houseplant unattended during vacation. The poem humorously catalogs a departing person's anxieties: securing the home, packing, and crucially, who will water "the rubber plant"—a popular Victorian-era houseplant. The accompanying illustration shows "A Commuter's Courtship," depicting a man and woman on a couch, likely representing the solution: entrusting plant care to a romantic interest or neighbor during absence. The satire targets upper-middle-class concerns about maintaining domestic appearances and the awkwardness of asking favors from acquaintances. The rubber plant specifically symbolizes respectable home life during this era. The joke suggests that romantic complications—or at least social awkwardness—accompany even simple requests for help.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Annual Problem ING heigh-o for a long vacation! Frantic, | pray for a swift solution ; Cool and restful, the ocean calls; Friendly neighbors, alas, are few! Finished the days of preparation— Relatives murmur at persecution ; Curtains and rugs in camphor balls. Pets are denied at the “Ocean View.” Vainly I wonder, as time grows scant— Bitter this drop in pleasure’s cup; Hampers are packed, and the trunks strapped up— Comfort the fates refuse to grant— Who's to take care of my rubber plant? Who's to take care of the brindled pup? What shall we do with the brindled pup? What shall I do with the rubber plant? Corinne Rockwell Swain. y =a] 7} es A COMMUTER'S COURTSHIP comicbooks.com