Life, 1916-10-05 · page 9 of 42
Life — October 5, 1916 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page presents three cartoons contrasting man's nature across settings. The top pair, "Man in God's Country" and "Man in Man's Country," juxtaposes a figure amid wilderness against a formally dressed gentleman amid urban skyscrapers—suggesting civilization corrupts natural virtue. The bottom cartoon, "Unsung Heroes: The Husband of a Germ Enthusiast," depicts a domestic scene where a woman appears to be conducting some kind of scientific or culinary experiment while her husband sits at table. The satire targets "germ theory" enthusiasm—likely early 20th-century popular anxiety about bacteria—mocking wives who obsessively applied new scientific health theories at home, potentially making domestic life unpleasant for husbands. The accompanying essay on "Temperament" discusses feminine irritability and its distinction from genius.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
UNSUNG HEROES THE HUSBAND OF A GERM ENTHUSIAST MAN IN MAN'S COUNTRY Temperament N a woman temperament is the volume of irritability she is allowed to show; in a man it represents the propor- tion of the feminine in his construction, Temperament is always feminine. When a married woman throws plates at her husband, and tears up the carpet, she has within her the makings of a great artist; all she needs are technique, a press agent and a divorce; hitherto her energies have been misdirected. Temperament is the difference between character and genius; that is, it marks the point where character leaves off and genius begins. When there is enough temperament, and it is properly directed, genius results; when not, you secure board at a lunatic asylum. Temperament is the nth power of selfishness, the supreme anarchist of the mind. When you begin to feel bombs going off inside of you, and they are counting the dead and you see a kind-faced posterity looming in the dis- tance, then prepare for every emergency; send for an nist and a reporter. For when the next bulletin is megaphoned, you may be either a member or the father superior of a new cult.