Life, 1922-09-07 · page 31 of 44
Life — September 7, 1922 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine article satirizes the supposed mysterious "powers" of Barbara Whiffle, a 62-year-old Connecticut woman allegedly attracting admirers from around the world. The piece mockingly compares her to historical seductresses (Cleopatra, Delilah) and literary figures (Kipling's "The Vampire"). The satire targets both credulous public fascination and pseudo-scientific explanations. A psychoanalyst quoted invokes vague concepts like "extraneous antennae" to explain her appeal—lampooning how experts deployed obscure jargon to seem authoritative. The accompanying photographs show various supposedly smitten men, including "Prince Fu Ping" and others, visiting her modest home. The humor lies in the absurd contrast: a 62-year-old woman from Middletown, Connecticut somehow possessing irresistible appeal, while she herself humbly claims ignorance of her power. The article's breathless tone and elaborate buildup undercut by mundane reality creates the satirical effect.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Can This 62 Year Old Gir be A Love Pirate ? The Strange Case of Barbara Whiffle, (3 S )} Whose Fatal Lure is Baffling How old was Cleopatra? Was Delilah a grandmother when she trimmed Samson’s locks? Whom did Kipling have in mind when he composed “The Vampire”? These, and other questions, are puzzling scientists in their attempts to fathom the mystery of Barbara Whiffle, sixty-two-year-old girl of Middletown, Conn., who is attracting attention—and men—in all corners of the globe. These men, led on by an influence that is the despair of psycho-analysts, have flocked to Miss Whiffle’s modest home in droves, sacrificing all for the sake of a smile. And how little Barbara does smile! Her tender little lips curve up wistfully at the corners, betraying the fact that, for all her psychic power, she possesses a saving sense of humor. Interviewed in her modest room in her Middletown home the other day by a Sunpay Lire reporter, Barbara told the strange story of how she discovered her power. “T'm sure I don’t know why I should be different from other girls,” she said demurely, “I guess I just am, that’s all. Do you think I am a love pirate? Some people think I am a love pirate. Oh, say Prince Fu Ping, you don’t think I am a love pirate!” Heir to Throne Barbara’s mother was equally at sea for the explanation of her State“Wids June thter’s peculiar power. “As a baby, Barbara was difficult,” she neyed all the Way “She was never so happy as when some married friend of the ges pistes to y was visiting the house. I am at a loss to understand this some- and Ruby | Mines ¢ that the doctors call magnetism—” (here there was a brief at Barbara’s Feet. intermission while Mrs. Whiffle removed some biscuits from the Mrs. Whiffle Sent oven) “—but I suppose it is all. for the best.” ae Barbara’s grandmother agreed with this observation. Dr. Felix Traube, the eminent psycho-analyst, has this to say: Anois £ B “Modern science has learned to classify many phenomena that would Another Of | Bar, have puzzled the psychologists of a hundred years ago. And yet the Gerald Gwynn case of the Whiffle girl has certain extraneous antenne that set it Livingston. Known apart. What probably happened is that this girl unconsciously made ie bey. Bark as herself attractive to men. There is also something more than an even ingston, Promi- chance that this is not the scientific explanation.” nent Turf-man and | Yale Graduate, Little Miss Whiffle has accepted a handsome offer to go into vaude- Whose Ardent ville, and will soon be seen in one of the local theatres. She has also pftters.to Barbara signed a contract with the Cosmopolitan Film Corporation. Recently. comicbooks.com