Life, 1916-08-10 · page 38 of 38
Life — August 10, 1916 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes modern women's hesitation about marriage through a repeated dialogue between a man and woman. He earnestly declares "I love you" multiple times, but she responds with increasingly elaborate objections: loss of freedom, practical problems (household expenses), compatibility concerns, and the inability to plan outcomes. The satire targets the "New Woman" of the early 20th century—educated, independent, concerned with rational decision-making rather than romantic impulse. She intellectualizes marriage into paralysis, raising legitimate concerns (financial strain, individual autonomy) that sound reasonable until his final exasperated question reveals the absurdity: she's discussed everything *except* actually accepting his proposal. The title "Multum in Parvo" (much in little) suggests volumes of modern complications mask a simple romantic situation. The joke lands on contemporary gender anxiety—women's increased autonomy creating new dating complications—while gently mocking her overthinking. The page also contains period advertising (Clicquot Club ginger ale, "Mum" deodorant), typical for Life magazine's format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“MULTUM IN PARVO" Much It Mattered HE SAID: There is so much that I want to do yet. I have so many splendid men friends and I cannot bear the thought of giving them all up; of course, what I mean is that our free- dom would be gone in the sense that it exists between us now. He said: I love you! She said: Somehow the problem of marriage seems to be so much more complicated than ever before. Every- body’s time is taken up so, and we stumble into the most dreadful pitfalls just because we haven't had the oppor- tunity to think. He said: I love you. She said: Then there are all the practical problems to be solved—and most of them are so unsolvable! There is the question of household expense— a dreadful thing, isn’t it? Yet one can- not get away from it. The worst of it is that it doesn’t seem to matter how much money one has, the distress of it is evident all along the upward scale. He said: I love you. She said: Of course, there must be compatibility. Yet how is one to tell about that until it is too late? Natur- ally, we must believe in some things, and I have nothing against marriage. 1 realize that it has been going on now for a long time, and no doubt, from the aggregate standpoint, it must persist. But then, I am quite bound, you know, to view it from the standpoint of the individual, and I ask myself, is it best? He said: I love you. She sa It would be so easy, wouldn't it, if it could all be arranged beforehand, so that we might know how it was coming out; indeed, so that we might plan to have it come out right, but that is obviously impossible. He said: I love you. She said: But you forget there is something, after all, more important than loving me. That is not enough. “What in the world can it be?” he said. And she said: You have not yet asked me to marry you. RUELTY to children takes vari- ous forms. That parent is unin- tentionally guilty of it who fails to bring them their weekly Lire because the newsdealer was sold out. The parent might have left a standing or- der, prevents all odors of the body and keeps the skin and clothing fresh and sweet all day. Does not check | perspiration—that would be harmful. “Mum” is economical — little needed at a time—lasts from bath to bath—no waste. A greaseless cream—harmless to skin and clothing. 25e—sold by 9 out of 10 drug- and department-stores. “MUM” MFG CO 1106 Chestnut St Philadelphia comicbooks.com