Life — November 15, 1923 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Hymn of Hate" by Dorothy Parker This is Dorothy Parker's satirical poem attacking various categories of married men and their social behaviors. The illustration shows a grotesque caricatured figure (likely representing an unappealing husband type). Parker systematically mocks: - **Home Bodies**: dull husbands who avoid social life - **He-Men**: domineering "masters of their own homes" - **Steppers-Out**: unfaithful men with secret affairs - **Gloom Kings**: intellectually pretentious men - Various other husband archetypes and their annoying habits The poem's refrain—"I hate Husbands; / They narrow my scope"—frames marriage as restrictive for women. Parker satirizes both husband types and their wives' resigned acceptance of poor treatment, concluding that women "would be better off if they did." This reflects 1920s-30s social commentary on marital dissatisfaction and gender dynamics.