Life, 1921-05-12 · page 5 of 36
Life — May 12, 1921 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents an essay by Arthur Guterman critiquing marriage and wives, accompanied by a satirical cartoon. The text sarcastically argues that wives are necessary for men's intellectual development while simultaneously listing their faults—they're demanding, intrusive, and "keep their husbands guessing." The cartoon depicts anthropomorphized animals (appearing to be dogs or similar creatures) in a domestic scene, with one female figure declaring "Farewell, forever! Henceforth I shall live my own lives." The satire mocks both wives' supposed independence aspirations and husbands' anxieties about female autonomy. The overall piece reflects early 20th-century satirical humor about marriage tensions, portraying wives as simultaneously indispensable and burdensome—typical of the era's gender-based comedy that would seem outdated today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Essay on Wives By Arthur Guiterman "OR man to live alone is far from good; F A churlish hermit, selfishly contented, He deems reserve a test of manlihood— \nd that’s the reason wives were first invented; For wives insist on being understood, And slights to them are grievously repented; We snub intrusive males with surly phrases, But you can't tell your wife to go to blazes! The proper study of mankind is man; But wives are mankind's higher course of study, The course that Cain's progenitor began When apples first on Eden's tree were ruddy; And wives, accordingly, do what they can To save our intellects from growing muddy ; Upon his very wedding day, a youth Shall gape and stare, by weird misgivings harried: One wife was all he sought; but now, forsooth, He finds himself polygamously married To wild, alluring Lilith, gentle Ruth, Zenobia, that queen of deserts arid, Cornelia, tenderest of Roman mothers, Xantippe, Joan of Arc, and sundry others. A wife's a rag, a bone, a hank of hair; A wife's a thing of naught, a fly, a bubble! A wife's a pearl of price beyond compare ; i a very present help in trouble; s brutish man’s diviner share ; A wife is what will make your burden double; Their talk, their tears, their whims, their modes of dressing A wife is what laments across my shoulder Are all devised to keep us husbands guessing. “Poor thing! It’s growing worse as it grows sider!” Gwe us@aor| Our. Dathy conus FAREWELL FOREVER! HENCEFORTH 1 SHALL LIVE MY OWN LIVES, comicbooks.com