Life, 1921-01-20 · page 27 of 36
Life — January 20, 1921 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate humorous pieces satirizing social awkwardness and domestic life. **"What the Wallflower Thinks About"** mocks the anxieties of unmarried women at social dances—a major courtship venue of the era. The satire targets the woman's desperate focus on securing dance partners (mentioning specific men like "Charley Smith" and "Paul Jones") and her self-conscious preoccupations (her dress, other women's appearances, how people dance). The humor lies in exposing that she simultaneously wants attention yet resents the superficiality of dance culture. **"Home Again"** features four comic panels depicting children sledding in winter, with a humorous final scene showing them arriving home "just in time"—implying they narrowly avoided parental punishment. The dialogue uses exaggerated accent spelling ("vare" for "where"), suggesting immigrant or working-class parents. Both pieces use gentle social satire typical of Life magazine's era, poking fun at recognizable middle-class scenarios without harsh criticism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What the Wallflower Thinks About \VEETHER the man coming towards her is going to ask her to dance. How hot it is in the dressing-room for more than one or two dances Why they don’t have a Paul Jones and ive everyone in the room a chance. If she can hang on to this stupid fat ran for a few more dances. That Charley Smith will just have to sk her to dance, eventually—she had him Sunvews: Hang it! Tl miss my train—it’s too slippery to run for it ! Whis! “(OH GRAVE, WHERE Is THY VICTORY?” to supper on purpose only last week How the time drags. What men can see in that silly little blonde over there. Whether the man next to her will ask her for the next dance or gracefully ex- cuse himself before the music starts. Why she didn’t wear her other evening dress. How vulgarly some people dance! What people come to stupid things like dances for, anyway! a taxi. “Well, this is as good as Home Again HRIS and John had been away from home against their mother's com- mands and she was waiting for them with a switch “ Chris, vare you been?” “Mit John.” “John, vare you been?” “Mit Chris.” “Vare you both been?” * Togedder.” * Just in time.” comicbooks.com