Life — November 27, 1919 — page 23: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon mocks the pretensions of wealthy or aristocratic fathers. Two men in formal evening wear converse at what appears to be a social gathering. One asks about a tall, beautiful woman, quoting flowery poetic language ("Daughter of the Gods, divinely tall and most divinely fair"). The other man simply replies, "My daughter." The joke targets paternal vanity: the questioner expects some elaborate explanation for the woman's exceptional beauty, but the answer deflates this—she's simply the speaker's daughter, suggesting he's taking unwarranted credit for her appearance through heredity alone. The cartoon satirizes how fathers of that era might boast about their daughters' beauty as a reflection of their own superiority or status, treating their children as social assets rather than individuals.