Life, 1922-11-30 · page 3 of 36
Life — November 30, 1922 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical poem and illustration critique a man who pursues outdated, "archaic" pursuits (hunting dinosaurs, catching auks) while his wife manages domestic life without complaint. The poem mocks his nostalgic resistance to modernity—he ignores suffrage movements ("never was a suffrage babbler"), dismisses progressive figures ("never heard of Hedda Gabler"), and remains willfully ignorant of contemporary issues. The illustration titled "Opportunist" shows a man standing among what appear to be animals or figures in a domestic setting, likely depicting the contradiction between his claimed bravery and his actual passivity. The satire targets conservative men who resist social progress while their wives silently enable their lifestyle through traditional homemaking. The poem's attribution to "W.D." and the "Married Man" framing suggests this criticizes masculine reactionism in the face of early 20th-century social reform.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ILC The Brave Reactionary “EN ages when the hairy man “Ah, no! He dropped a ton of game, Girt on a stone or flinty hatchet, Upon the lap of waiting Mrs. Pursuing that archaic plan He had her finely trained and tame, That if he’d eat he’d have to catch it, She did not even ask for kisses; Was there, when he returned, a squawk, Did she complain about her lot? A loud and raucous family chorus, Not while he was a good provider! Concerning who would pluck the Auk, She cooked because, as like as not, Or fricassee the Dinosaurus? She wanted food to put inside her. “She also serves who cooks and waits; She never was a suffrage babbler ; She never stumped the Union States; She never heard of Hedda Gabler !”— Brave words, these few! But, Reader, can You guess the source of thoughts so pleasant? You're right! I quote a Married Man, Who spoke when Wifie wasn’t present! W. D. Opportunists comicbooks.com