Life, 1915-11-11 · page 14 of 44
Life — November 11, 1915 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks the "petted husband"—a wealthy man indulged by his wife during her absence. The cartoon illustrates a domestic scene where the husband lounges comfortably while his wife travels to Poland Springs (a fashionable resort). The satire critiques **class anxiety and marital dynamics of the era**: the husband arranges poker parties and hires a chauffeur for joy rides, behaving like a neglected child rather than a responsible adult. His wife's sarcastic letter exposes the hypocrisy—she indulges his comfort while he squanders resources and risks arrest for speeding. The joke targets both spouses: wealthy husbands portrayed as emotionally dependent and wives as complicit enablers of male irresponsibility. It reflects early 20th-century anxieties about masculine identity and upper-class leisure culture.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
aU we MO | | I jl ih “You can't kill me—I'm a New York baby” To be termed just a little mite raw; But say! if you think that my language is tough, You ought to sit up and hear Maw.” “You are young,” said the sage, “yet your pink little toes Already know how to fox-trot; You are wise to all scandals and musi- cal shows— Where did you acquire such a lot?” “TI first saw the light,” said the Babe with a leer, “In a circle that’s awfully fast. Thad to keep upwith the future, my dear, So I simply was born with a past. © The Babe would undoubtedly have inspired Malice to further efforts had not the Duchess suddenly entered, quarreling violently with a gentleman who appeared to be her husband. “T told you not to give your diamond tiara to that dancing teacher!” shouted the enraged man. “It was just a teeny, weeny little tiara,” pouted the Duchess. “Perhaps,” replied the angry gentle- man. “But it gets them into bad habits, expecting presents every time they come. I think the man’s a fraud.” “He's not!” cried the Duchess, drawing herself up to her full height. “He's a social gangster.” “The whole business makes me ill,” snapped the enraged one. “Then you need an operation, just as T said,” replied the Duchess. Whereat seven monstrous animals in the guise of fashionable surgeons emerged from their hiding-places behind the curtains, pounced upon the unfortunate man and began dragging him toward the dissect- ing-room. “What fun!” giggled Malice, fol- lowing excitedly ; for she had never yet seen a capital operation where capital is spelled with an $ Wallace Irwin. The Petted Husband TH petted husband had arranged for a small, rather informal poker party during his wife's absence with her maid on the ideal tour; he had also taken the liberty of hiring a small touring car with an experienced chauf- feur, and had, indeed, laid out a very complete program, which covered sev- eral intensely interesting experiences, when he received a telegram from his wife telling him to come to Poland Springs at once, as she had been ar- rested in that vicinity for exceeding the speed limit. * The petted husband, uttering several words of deep chagrin, made the jour- ney and found his wife, whereupon she said: “You see, I am not unmindful of your comfort. I knew you could not be induced to leave your business unless for something urgent, so I thought it would be a good idea to deceive you for once in my life. I wasn’t arrested, of course, but it will do you no end of good to finish up this trip with me, for your face has a harried look.” The petted husband was naturally delighted and full of the deepest grati- tude for his wife's tender solicitude—a feeling, we may add, which is too often absent in the bosoms of the husbands of the present day when their wives, by some kind act, betray their love and affection. “Your forethought, my dear,” he said, “has filled me with the liveliest emotions, and, if agreeable to you, I will sit in the front seat on our re- turn, as my voice, from buying and selling on the exchange, is not very strong, and if I sat next to you I might weary both you and myself with too much appreciation of your loving thought of me.” comicbooks.com