Life, 1915-10-14 · page 19 of 44
Life — October 14, 1915 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1910s-era *Life* magazine page satirizes changing gender dynamics through two cartoons: **"Training Versus Muscle"** (top): Uncle Sam observes military recruits, noting only two are "usable." This likely comments on American military preparedness or recruitment standards of the era. **"The Petted Husband"** (main story): The satire inverts traditional domestic roles—the wife tyrannically demands service (ice water, precise preparations) while the husband obsequiously complies, sacrificing sleep and comfort. His complaints go unheeded; she finds fault regardless (forgetting the glass). The joke targets both parties: the emasculated husband who tolerates domestic tyranny, and the demanding, unreasonable wife who exploits her power. For 1910s readers, this represented anxieties about shifting marital power as women gained social influence. The satire suggests that "petted" wives have become domestic despots, while supposedly strong men have become servile—reversing expected hierarchies in ways the magazine's audience apparently found both comic and troubling.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ComeCuskag— Uncle Sam: The Petted Husband HE petted husband locked all the cellar windows, put an extra shovelful of coal on the furnace, fastened all the doors, looked to see that the refrigerator was quite tight, fixed the cat for the night, turned out all the lights and was slowly reaching the summit of the stairs when a voice called: “T hear no clink. Have you dared to come upstairs without preparing my pitcher of ice water?” The petted husband faltered: “T thought the maid usually did that, my dear.” “This is Thursday, the maid's night out. You didn’t think at all. You never consider me, anyway.” “My whole life, darling, is spent in trying to make you happy. TRAINING VERSUS MUSCLE 1 SEE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES THAT I CAN USE THE SPINSTER MAN “Your whole life is spent in trying to keep me from ice water and argue me out of my sleep. Don't stumble over the furniture when you put the pitcher on the table. Don’t say an- other word.” The petted husband descended the stairs, let the water run the regulation time, carefully cut the ice into the regulation pieces, filled the translucent pitcher, noiselessly placed it upon the regulation table, and, departing to his own den, gracefully disrobed and was soon reposing in the arms of Morpheus, Only to be awakened ten minutes later by a far-reaching voice that, shak- ing the reverberating rafters of his petted soul, said: “Idiot, you did not bring me a glass!” comicbooks.com