Life — June 1, 1922 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Strictly According to Doyle" This satirical sketch mocks romantic idealization, specifically referencing Arthur Conan Doyle's sentimental writing style. The scene depicts a couple in "Heaven" as "predestined soul-mates," with dialogue poking fun at saccharine romantic notions popular in early 20th-century literature. The cartoon shows a burglar character interrupting this heavenly reunion, delivering the punchline: he's returning a diamond necklace he stole during his previous night visit. This absurd intrusion deflates the romantic pretension—even in Heaven, earthly crime and materialism intrude. The satire targets both Doyle's melodramatic storytelling conventions and the era's overly sentimental romantic literature, suggesting such idealized scenarios are naive when confronted with reality's mundane complications.