Life, 1915-07-22 · page 18 of 44
Life — July 22, 1915 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story mocks the rigid social conventions of the early 20th-century leisure class. A couple dancing alone together at a summer resort provokes outrage from guests and the proprietor—not because dancing itself is improper, but because it violates specific social rules: it lacks musical accompaniment and involves only two people instead of a group. The proprietor's response—that the same behavior would be "all right" with a orchestra and more dancers—exposes the absurdity of arbitrary social etiquette. The satire suggests that upper-class respectability depends not on genuine morality but on conforming to meaningless formalities. A husband and wife dancing intimately is deemed "awful," while identical movements become acceptable merely by adding external trappings. The joke targets how Victorian-era social arbiters prioritized appearance and ritual over substance or genuine propriety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: “THOMAS, IF YOU MUST BE AMUSING I WISH YOU WOULD COME AND ENTERTAIN BABY” We've Got It isn't always that we real- ize what we have, The New York Sun has been $ keeping track of it, however, and reports as follows: e. We were called on last autumn to take over stocks and bonds in volume from European holders, and we had to export a great deal of gold. Now the gold which went out in the last half of 1914 has all come back. In other words, we have both the gold and the securities and have, in effect, repurchased the securi- ties with Europe's own money. Any more profitable business of that kind which we can do will be welcomed. Now that we have all these securities which entitle us to profits from each other and all this gold, perhaps the first thing to do is to find out just how much it is and then enter it up in our ledgers as so much assets. After that we should look around for a good place to put it. Shall we put it in a safe-deposit box for a rainy or a warry day, or shall we pay the national debt and stop interest, or shall we invest in more securities so that we can get more profits from ourselves, or shall we spend a part of it in a healthful and restful vacation for us all, or shall we retire from business altogether and devote the balance of our days to riotous living? At any rate, we are to be congratulated, and the least we could do would be to join each other in a toast to ourselves, E.0. J. A Disgraceful Proceeding T was evening in the old-fashioned summer resort. In the large parlor, with its collection of marble-topped tables and plush-covered sofas, many people were gathered, quietly chatting. Suddenly a nice-looking man, accompanied by a nice- looking woman, made his way to the center of the room. The man quietly pushed the tables back, making a space in the center of the room. Then he bowed to the lady. In a moment he had placed both arms about her and they were swaying back and forth, A cry of horror burst from the surrounding guests, one of whom rushed from the room and summoned the pro- prictor, That individual placed a hand firmly on the shoulder of the guilty man. “What do you mean, sir?” he cried. “Nothing, sir, nothing. This lady is my wife. I was just showing her how to dance. Is there anything wrong about that?” “Wrong!” shouted the proprietor. “ Well, I should say there is! If you had done it to a musical accompaniment and if there were more than two of you it would, of course, be all right. Under those conditions you could do almost anything. But for a man to dance alone with his own wife! Sir, this is awful! You must leave the hotel at once!” IN A CITY STREET comicbooks.com