Life — August 14, 1919 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Last Refuge" This page features a poem by Richard Le Gallienne titled "The Last Refuge," depicting a speaker seeking solitude in a cave on a remote island to escape modern life's noise and chaos. The illustration shows a domestic interior scene with the caption: "He made violent love to you, didn't he?" / "Dear me, no! He only asked me to marry him." The humor appears satirical about romantic/marital proposals—suggesting that asking someone to marry represents an aggressive or presumptuous act. The contrast between "violent love" and a simple marriage proposal critiques either courtship conventions of the era or, possibly, changing attitudes toward what constitutes acceptable romantic behavior. The juxtaposition with the escapist poem suggests commentary on modern social complications driving people to seek refuge.