Life, 1916-12-07 · page 55 of 94
Life — December 7, 1916 — page 55: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous domestic story satirizing male ego and credit-taking. The narrative follows a man who allows a workman to lay linoleum in his home, then takes full credit for the job to his wife, claiming "My contribution." The satire targets masculine vanity: the protagonist convinces himself he deserves credit merely for *intending* to do the work and being *present* while someone else labored. He then manages his wife's perception, accepts her admiration under false pretenses, and even bribes his housemaid Emily to forget the actual workman existed—erasing the real laborer from history. The illustration (captioned "Going Home for Christmas") shows an angel visiting a man, likely representing this moral lesson about dishonesty and self-aggrandizement. The story mocks how men rationalize taking credit for others' work through sophistry and selective truth-telling, particularly within domestic contexts where wives are expected not to question such narratives.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Christmas Life when he began to drive in the tacks I lay and listened dreamily to the tap-tap of his hammer as he pursued his methodical path across the floor from the window to the fireplace—a pleasant sound, the sound of an artist laboring at the craft he loved. cuse me, sir.” I woke with a start. “ Why, you've finished the room!" I exclaimed “All but the bit your chair is on,” he said. It seemed a pity to wake you. Might I trouble you to let me move it? It won't take me more than a minute.” It was true. For a moment I felt very angry with him. He had robbed me of the glory of laying my own linoleum. On the other hand he had made an extremely good job of i there was no doubt about that Again, Thad certainly intended to lay it myself, and, as every one knows, it is the in- tention, the will to act, that really GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS counts. I felt, too, that my presence had probably stimulated and encour- aged him in his work. Yes, the longer I reflected the more clearly I realized that if T could not exactly claim to have laid the linoleum single-handed, I had at any rate played a not unim- portant part in securing the excellent result that had been achieved by our united efforts. As he hammered in the last tack T decided to forgive him, and rang for a third bottle of ale We parted a little later the best of friends On my wife's return I took her into the smoking-room and pointed to the linoleum. “ My contribution,” I said. “You didn’t really lay it yourself?” she cried. I smiled tenderly on her. “ My dear,” I said, “I wanted to show you what a man can do.” It seemed superfluous plain to her that it was really, aking, the work of two She laid her hands on my shoulders and kissed me. fy wonderful Hor- ace!" she said softly. While my wife was engaged in put- ting the twins to rest, I thought it as well, in order to avoid any possi- bility of a future misunderstanding, to interview the housemaid who had brought in the ale to my coadjutor of the afternoon. “ Emily,” I said, indi- cating the linoleum, “ you were perhaps not aware that I was capable of ac- complishing at like this?” “No, sir,” she admitted; “IT thought it was the man I held up my hand. “Hush! He has passed out of our lives. Never think of him again. You understand?” I balanced two half-crowns absently on the tip of my first finger “Yes, sir,” she said. Emily is a sensible, intelligent girl We have always thought very highly comicbooks.com