Life, 1915-11-25 · page 11 of 44
Life — November 25, 1915 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains social commentary and humor typical of early 20th-century Life magazine satire. **Top Image ("For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"):** Shows what appears to be a funeral or memorial gathering, likely satirizing excessive mourning or the social performance of grief among the upper classes. **"An Indictment" Section:** References Sophocles' quote about cowardice and insensibility. The text critiques someone (possibly a public figure) for being contradictory—claiming progressive ideals while acting conservatively. The passage suggests this person lacks imagination, humor, or financial resources to act on stated beliefs. **Lower Cartoon & "Her Forte":** A domestic scene showing a governess hired by parents to manage children. The humor involves class distinctions and social pretension—the joke about the "good die young" satirizes parental attitudes toward caregivers and children's behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“FoR HE’S A JOLLY GooD FELLOW” A GOVERNESS is a paid companion hired by parents An Indictment who realize that they are not fit to associate with their He who in midst of woes desireth life Is either coward or insensible. Sophocles, children. HILE we have never met Sophocles personally, we have always entertained the idea that he was a good man. We judge of him that he rather liked to advertise himself by taking the opposite ground of some universal notion; but this is nothing against him. Other great men —Bernard Shaw, for example—do the same thing. Besides—in spite of the fact that Sophocles was a phi- losopher—there is a great deal of truth in what he say: His main difficulty, however, in this instance is that he doesn’t go far enough. A man who, in the midst of woes, desireth Lire may be not only ‘a coward or insensible; such a man can have no imagination and no sense of humor; he is also probably short of ready cash. Her Forte “T HEAR that Ethel has a splendid position for which she is pre-eminently fitted.” “And that is—?” “QUICK, ETHEL! YOU SMOKE THIS CIGAR WHILE I S , “Confidential secretary to a theatrical publicity man.” I JUST HEARD PAPA SAY THE GOOD DIE YouNG!” comicbooks.com