Life — November 20, 1919 — page 23: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

**"The Prude"** (poem): Mocks an excessively virtuous woman who rigidly follows social conventions—no smoking, drinking, dancing, or gambling—yet remains unmarried despite believing herself perfect wife material. The satire targets hypocrisy: her self-righteous propriety actually repels potential suitors rather than attracting them. **"Timely"** (dialogue): A brief joke about an author pitching a book on working-class psychology. The editor's suggested title—"Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow"—is a pun implying the author's manuscript is itself lazy/unoriginal, likely a reference to a famous essay series by Jerome K. Jerome. **"Mr. Bug (the photographer)"** (cartoon): Shows an insect photographer struggling to fit tall, long-legged human couple into his camera frame, asking them to kneel. The humor derives from the absurdist premise of a bug operating a camera and the couples' literal physical mismatch with the equipment. All three pieces use gentle social satire typical of early-20th-century humor magazines.