Life, 1921-09-15 · page 25 of 34
Life — September 15, 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top cartoon ("At Newport"):** Shows children at a beach resort discussing their stepfather. The joke satirizes wealthy Newport families' marital instability—the child's casual comment that they "had him last year" implies rapid remarriage and disposable husbands among the rich. **Bottom cartoon ("Why the Worm Has Turned"):** A servant (Bridget, an Irish maid—a common stereotype) refuses to immediately obey her employer's bell. The mistress complains she "almost had to pick up my handkerchief" herself. The satire mocks upper-class entitlement and servants' growing assertiveness. "The worm has turned" refers to social change: working-class people rejecting total subservience to aristocratic demands, even trivial ones. The "1870" notation dates this shift in servant-employer dynamics to that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
September 15 At Newport “Do you like your new papa?” “Yes.” “So did we. We had him last year.” Why the Worm Has Turned Mistress (of 1870): Why didn’t you come when I rang, Bridget? “I was in the pantry polishing brasses, Ma’am.” “Well, try to be quicker. I almost had to pick up my handkerchief.” comicbooks.com