Life, 1913-12-04 · page 49 of 112
Life — December 4, 1913 — page 49: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents "The Proposals of Robinson," a serialized romantic story titled "The Frivolous Summer Girl." The narrative describes a playful intimate moment between a man and woman—he blindfolds her with his handkerchief while she performs some unspecified task requiring "bravery" and "patience." After he leaves and removes his blindfold, she calls from an overhead window, calling him "darling." The accompanying cartoon shows anthropomorphic animals (a tortoise racing a hare) with an umpire announcing the event—a humorous reference to Aesop's fable about the slow tortoise defeating the swift hare. For modern readers, the story's suggestive language and coy narrative style reflects early 20th-century *Life* magazine's approach to romance: playful, flirtatious, and deliberately ambiguous about physical intimacy, relying on innuendo rather than explicit description. The tone is lighthearted social commentary on courtship conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Robinson THE FRIVOLOUS SUMMER GIRL Umpire (announcing): TORTOISE RUNNING FOR HARE! (Great applause.) “ All right.” I gave her my handker- chief and leaned over the sofa. She drew it tightly over my eyes and knotted it as best she could. It was nearly dark in the room anyway, there being only the faint glimmer from the candelabra in the hall. “All ready?” “ All ready.” I worked as rapidly as I could con- sidering the job. Oh, how brave she was! And how patient! I finished. “Now go!” I rushed out of the house. Outside I took off my bandage. As I stepped ‘on the path a window overhead opened. “Ts that you?” “Yes. How do you feel?” “Marvelous.” And then she added softly, “ You darling!" ToL,