Life, 1916-03-02 · page 11 of 44
Life — March 2, 1916 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on early 20th-century social conventions. The "Fashions" essay mocks wealthy husbands' fashion requirements—they must be "well decorated with large bank accounts, enormous stock holdings and substantial deeds of land." For wives, there's commentary on post-war dating: heroines no longer pursue European titled husbands but instead seek "husbands—wounded or about-to-be-wounded." The "Reported Birth-Bed Utterances" section presents humorous dialogue about matrimonial arrangements. The lower cartoon "More Than Ready" depicts a man boasting of having "one hundred and seventy-nine grown sons, and quite a few daughters for nurses"—satirizing large families' patriarchal structures and women's expected domestic roles as caregivers.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Fashions HERE are several fashionable ways to die—but there is only one stylish way to live, and that is to live as fast as pos- sible, and get the thing over with. Fashions in husbands _re- main pretty much the same— they may be tall, short, fat, lean or skinny, but they must be well decorated with large bank accounts, enormous “stock holdings and substan- tial deeds of land. There is a greater choice in wives. One may have a self- supporting wife, an heiress wife, or just a pampered- beauty wife. Those who have had experience maintain that the last named is the least desirable. In some exclusive circles it is fash- ionable to have a companionable wife—but as these are very diffi- cult to make, it is suggested that PURE AND SIMPLE the amateur refrain from trying his hand at one. Fashions in novels have changed greatly since the war. Heroines now no longer go to Europe for dresses and husbands. They just go for husbands—wounded or about- to-be-wounded. COLONEL HOUSE Reported Birth-Bed Utterances EN FRANKLIN: Well, there's one thing about it. The misman- agement in the Post Office department will occur so long after I’m gone, that I might as well invent it anyway. It’s no funeral of mine. Dante: I shall do the best I can with my Inferno, but naturally my style will be cramped without any subways to study. Hercutes: Thank Heaven, I shall not have to stand out some cold win- ter’s day with the thermometer at ten above and pass an hour or so trying to crank my Ford. Boccaccio: I'm going to start the first club of “When to Tell the Par- ents.” MORE THAN READY Mr. Coon: WAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF DOING ANYTHING FOR PREPARED- . NESS IN CASE OF WAR? Stow husbands make fast wives. Mr, Bunny: WELL, 1 HAVE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINE GROWN SONS, AND QUITE A FEW DAUGHTERS FOR NURSES. comicbooks.com