Life — September 20, 1923 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Mrs. Pep's Diary: Commentary on Social Climbing This page presents a satirical diary entry from "Mrs. Pep" documenting upper-class social pretensions. The September 15th entry mocks wealthy Americans' obsession with European culture—specifically French fashion and décor—treating imported French taste as a status symbol. The accompanying cartoon depicts a Lady Centaur (half-woman, half-horse) whose husband has broken his leg, with the grim suggestion "I guess we'll have to shoot him"—a dark joke about how wealthy people might dispose of injured horses, satirizing both the callousness of the wealthy and the absurdity of aristocratic concerns. Together, the content ridicules American nouveaux riches who uncritically adopt European sophistication while remaining morally shallow or ridiculous.