Life, 1914-03-19 · page 8 of 44
Life — March 19, 1914 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks Henri Bergson's admission to the French Academy. The main cartoon shows a woman asking a man "Where are ladies' waists?" with the reply "Between the neckwear and hosiery, madam"—a joke about the fashionable, high-waisted silhouette of the era that made women's actual waists nearly invisible. The broader satire suggests Bergson, a serious philosopher, struggled financially and had to resort to America (seen as a commercial, unintellectual resort) to make money. The accompanying illustration, "A Restoration: The Venus of Tango," parodies contemporary dance crazes and changing aesthetics. The humor targets both Bergson's commercial compromises and contemporary American culture's perceived shallowness compared to European intellectual traditions.
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Via America HE news that Henri Bergson has at last been admitted to the French Academy must make us all pause and consider what are the true sources of greatness. Starting a new philosophy in these days is no. flying-machine, one-hun- dred horse-power ascent to certain glory. The initial cost of the adver- tising alone would make any incipient genius with no settled income pause upon the threshold and consider whether he is certain of paying back his friends who have kindly consented to back him, Professor Bergson had as much trouble with his philosophy as any hard-working and conscientious philosopher docs in Europe in these days. He wrote humorous paragraphs for the press, and called attention to the fact that laughter is not the spontaneous thing that we who have heen brought up on the Congressional Record and the editorials in the Times think it But the Gallic world passed him lightly by. At this point all seemed hopeless. America—that last resort of European literati—only remained; it being generally recognized that any philosopher who wishes to get started in life and begin to help pay his own board can always turn to America as a last resort. And so Professor Bergson cabled A RESTORATION THE VENUS DE TANCO Pirex ce “WHERE ARE LAD! waists?” “BETWEEN THE NECKWEAR AND HOSIERY, MADAM.” over to the women of America and i: “T have tried everything else to get on my feet. If I you back me up? It happened at this particular mo- ment that there was a lull in all high- brow circles hereabouts; no new fads had been developed for a couple of weeks; no new schools of thought had heen put on the market. And so the women of America cabled back: “Come at once; we need a brand- new French philosophy to talk about. Will frock and flock to hear you. Hysterics forever!” The rest is history. tart something, will Bergson became the synonym for profundity. Under his treatment transcendentalism didn’t know herself. Harvard fell. Femi- nism added more laurels to her high- brow. Pragmatism engaged board for the summer in a sanitarium. Woman's clubs everywhere erected trophies. When the glorious news came back to France that Bergson had been pro- nounced a real philosopher, by the most select circles of East Orange and Montclair, there was great rejoicing. Thus the French Academy has a new member, and once again the Semitic intellect has come to its own with a proper share of the gate receipts. comicbooks.com