Life, 1921-09-15 · page 14 of 34
Life — September 15, 1921 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on gender and fashion in early 20th-century America. **"A Legal Lamentation"** is a poem by Charles E. Parker mocking a husband's complaint about his wife's clothing choices—specifically her evening dress, outing suit, and cotton pants that he deems unfashionable and unladylike. The satire inverts typical gender dynamics by presenting the husband as vain and controlling, while defending a woman's right to wear practical clothing without neighbors' judgment. The upper illustration depicts three figures on a beach, accompanying witty dialogue about women's mental and physical qualities. The lower cartoon strip shows exaggerated caricatured figures in humorous situations, with the caption "Gee! Ain't it fierce; an' me on my vacation!"—satirizing vacation experiences and social pretension. The section "His Best and Only" praises Colonel Harvey's democratic virtue of driving a Ford, positioning the automobile as a symbol of American democracy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFeE A Legal Lamentation HEREAS, My spouse, on oath, declares That I, in ev’ning dress, Arouse most compliment’ry stares— If truth she must confess ; * Whereas, Said spouse, in further claim— Which I shall not refute— Avers I put most men to shame When clad in outing suit; Whereas, Said spouse is prone to gloat When I select gray spats To wear with shapely black frock coat And shiny high silk hat, The spouse aforesaid, raves and rants— Deposes I’m a tramp— When I put on my cotton pants To loaf around our camp. I grant said pants are not as neat As sundry pants I wear— Two patches dot their ample sc Dull spots show here and there; I grant the pants aforesaid bag Somewhat at either knee, But I demur, and claim as vague The spouse aforesaid’s plea That divers neighbors have the right To dictate what one wears— The common law, I'll gladly cite, Bereft of all its snares; Or I will prove no statute would Deny me my small chance Of wearing things that feel so good— To wit: those cotton pants. Charles E. Parker. His Best and Only “She is full of color physically. How is she mentally?” Tue best thing that Colonel Harvey does, if he really does it, is to go about London, driving himself in a Ford. That is amusing and laudable. He 1s “He’s quite literary, isn’t he?” De Styte: Don’t you think girls’ the representative of democracy and “Indeed yes; he tells me he is half- dresses nowadays are jokes? the Ford car is the greatest democratic way through ‘Main Street.’” Gunsusta: No; epigrams. appliance in the world. “Can’t say; never met her mentally.” Footpad: Gee! Ain’t it fierce; an’ me on my vacation! comicbooks.com