Life, 1915-04-22 · page 31 of 44
Life — April 22, 1915 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains two separate satirical pieces: **Top cartoon ("Obligatory Politeness"):** Shows well-dressed aristocratic figures (identifiable by their formal attire and military decorations) being awkwardly polite to each other at what appears to be a social gathering. The satire mocks the excessive formality and forced courtesy of high society—the "obligatory" politeness of the title that requires stiff, insincere social performance. **Bottom cartoon and essay:** The text humorously analyzes what makes a "pretty girl," using pseudo-intellectual reasoning to note that prettiness is merely proportion and perspective—women called "pretty" have identical features to "homely" girls, but society romanticizes their appearance with flowery language ("orbs," "peach blooms," "Cupid's bows"). The separate cartoon below shows children who can only read the letter "T-H-E," missing the full sign—a joke about limited literacy or understanding. Together, these pieces satirize social pretension and the subjective nature of beauty and social convention.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
© Offs Cusbagae OBLIGATORY POLITENESS Analysis of a Pretty Girl A PRETTY girl is a combination of curves, hair, skin and color. She possesses these attributes in common with homely girls, but in such particular proportions that, in her case, the result is quite different. A pretty girl is an exception to the rule, because if the majority of girls were pretty, they would be so common that we should get used to them. It is even conceivable that if pretty girls were in the majority, then we might come to believe that under these circumstances the girls who are now ordinary would then be considered pretty. Every pretty girl has many things in common with homely girls. She walks upright on two legs, her head is placed in the usual manner on her shoulders, and her arms hang idly on each side. She also has eyes, cheeks, lips and ears. In the case of the pretty girl, however, these necessary appurtenances are generally referred to as orbs, peach blooms, Cupid’s bows and pink seashells. Yet each one of them, in its shape, coloring and cubic density, may be precisely similar to the one owned by a homely girl, whose possessions are, however, never referred to in this imaginative manner, unless by some deluded individual who has looked at them so long that he is willing to believe anything about them is true. “HERE, YOU KIDS! CAN'T YOU READ THAT SIGN?” “NO, SIR; WE CAN ONLY READ T-H-E.” comicbooks.com