Life, 1913-12-04 · page 37 of 112
Life — December 4, 1913 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a domestic comedy piece illustrating early 1900s courtship anxieties. A young couple, Letty and Joseph Riggs Jr., have married after he left home in worn clothes to prove his love. Letty has mended his coat and worn ragged garments to match his circumstances. The humor centers on **female vanity and authenticity**: Letty confesses her hair isn't entirely her own—following contemporary fashion requiring added hairpieces ("loose at both ends"). This causes Joe's romantic ardor to cool momentarily, playing on male insecurity about female artificiality. The caption's Santa joke references her deception about possessing natural hair. The dramatic resolution shows Joseph Sr. arriving, observing his son's devotion, and reconciling with him—the domestic conflict resolved through filial loyalty. The story satirizes period concerns about materialism, feminine deception, and the tension between romantic ideals and social performance.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
dD ork ; AE-8 : A ee S 2212 Santa: weit, weir! “Well, I thought you wanted frills, and I couldn't sup- ply ’em. Letty, do you like me?” “I’ve mended your rags,” she said triumphantly. “ When you flew off that way you left your overcoat, frayed and ripped, on the bed—you forgot it. Careless—I couldn't leave your clothes like that. It was for me you wore ragged clothes, dear.” Her voice was beautifully soft. She twitched his sleeve in a fugitive caress. “I thought I'd stay a while and mend. The landlady gave me sewing things.” Riggs loved the landlady for that detention. “And in your worn-out coat I found the ring.” Her voice broke suddenly. “I thought you must want me, then.” She twisted away from him. “Your coat will do now.” As she moved to lift and display it, her gown fluttered two torn papers on the floor. He picked up the halves of a check. “What's this?” he asked. “Your brother offered it to me,” she confessed with a guilty laugh. “I tore it and threw it at him. So he went away. And I stayed.” Riggs bent over and kissed her showy hair, touched it with proprietary fingers. ~ hesitation. I DIDN’T KNOW SHE HAD ONE! “Tt is all your own, isn’t it, Letty,” he remarked ad- miringly. “Most of it,” said the truthful Letty, after an instant’s “You couldn't expect any girl’s hair to be entirely her own, the way the styles are now. You really have to have it loose at both ends to get the prevail- ing effects. I'd have told you before, Joe, if you'd asked.” “I know you would,” he replied in a slightly cooler tone. “Oh, I’ve enough,” she asserted, and snatched out the pins. She threw a few mysterious clots of curls upon the bureau, The falling braids swung far below her waist. “Tt'll do,” he answered gaily to her challenging look. * There was a knock. She caught the braids together in one hand, and shrank against the window, a lovely silhou- ette. The door opened. Joseph Riggs, Senior, stood on the threshold. Joseph Riggs, Junior, regarding him, stepped back and put an arm about his wife. The old man stared at them a moment. “Son,” he said, “I miss you. Make your own terms.”