Life, 1919-08-14 · page 18 of 44
Life — August 14, 1919 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"Tact"** depicts summer boarders departing a home, with a young daughter saying goodbye to kittens—a sentimental, domestic scene illustrating polite social behavior. **"Alma Mater Revisited"** satirizes a college reunion. A young wife (class of 1917) shows off her new husband to her female classmates like a trophy ("new Kewpie doll"). The poem reveals the husband's emotional neglect: his wife treats him carelessly, "tossing" him attention "like a bone to a starving dog," while he desperately seeks her approval among her gossiping friends. The satire critiques both the wife's superficiality and the husband's pathetic neediness in marriage. **"Pinched for Not Being Muzzled"** (right panel) appears to show a chaotic street scene with children or figures being disciplined, likely commenting on social regulation or parental control. The page mocks early 20th-century domestic life and gender dynamics—particularly women's power over men and the hollowness of social performance at reunions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TACT THE DAUGHTER OF THE DEPARTING SUMMER BOARDERS SAID SHE WANTED TO GO BACK AND TELL THE Alma Mater Revisited HE young wife, class "17, Hands her husband around Like a new Kewpie doll To Peggy. Helen, Margaret, Excited, all prinked up, Reminiscing like a nestful of rooks; ger, forgetful, ng from room to hall, From hall to Alumnae, From chocolate shake to strawberry sundae, Tossing her husband one smile care- lessly, Like a bone to a starving dog. The young husband Among the billowing frocks Of Peggy, Helen, Margaret, Excited, all prinked up Like new Kewpie dolls Limps in tight boots adoringly From room to hall From hall to Alumnae, Alone, Seeing one excited face In the mass of muslined nullities Poised to catch the careless smile For which he hungers, Like a starving dog. Jeannette Phillips Gibbs. KITTENS GOOD-BY “ PINCHED” FOR NOT BEING MUZZLED comicbooks.c@nl