Life, 1923-12-27 · page 33 of 37
Life — December 27, 1923 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes advertising with satirical commentary on 1920s American life. **"The Futile Quest"** parodies Sinclair Lewis's *Main Street* (1920), a famous novel satirizing small-town American hypocrisy. The poem mocks readers seeking the book's depicted moral decay—arguing that while moderns claim to value truth, their fiction remains mere fiction. The joke: people want scandalous realism but won't find it. **"The Education of a Club Woman's Husband"** satirizes women's increasing club participation and self-improvement lectures. A husband describes ferrying children while his wife attends lectures on child-rearing from an unmarried "expert"—the irony being obvious. He cooks dinner himself while she studies theory. The satire targets both women's activism and the contradiction between expert advice and lived domestic reality. Both pieces reflect 1920s anxieties about changing gender roles and modern authenticity. The *Life* calendar advertisement uses the cartoon of a rushing child ("Going Fast!") to promote the publication itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE Going Fast! THE Life CALENDAR for 1924 Six splendid colored plates, beautifully printed on fine card stock. Postage free in United States or Canada—$1.00. As the edition is limited and the Calendar can be purchased only from us, make sure of getting yours by filling in coupon. LIFE PUBLISHING CO. 598 Madison Avenue, New York I enclose $........for. Life Calendar to be sent to Name Street No. Town Name Street No. Town... The Futile Quest Wuen “Main Street” set a brand-new style Anent the vernal lea, And others followed—I set forth To find where such things be. I sought it high, I sought it low, This village of the Books— Where all the women are forlorn, And all the men are crooks ; Where virtue wears a dour face, And vice plays no gay tunes, And life is just one endless meal Of somewhat moldy prunes. Where Mildred’s sole excitement is The joy of conquering dust; Where James behind his pious face Has only thoughts of lust; Where boys live only to impale Live flies upon a pin; And girls begrudge the city’s chance To sin—and sin—and sin. And though I sought it high and low, This township of the novel, Where glumness and where discontent Pervade each hearth and hovel, I never found the spot, and so I've reached this firm conviction : That though these moderns boast of Truth, Their fiction is just—fiction. LH. The Education of a Club Woman’s Husband “I am leaving the office a bit early to-day. I have to call for three of the children at their parking places be- fore I go home. We are mighty for- tunate. No family could have nicer friends to leave children with than we have. Of course, we don’t use them often; only when we have no help and my wife has her club days. It doesn’t average over thirteen or fourteen days a month, “My wife's club days are so im- portant just now. She is hearing a series of lectures on ‘The Care and Training of Children’ by one of the foremost authorities in the country. The expert has never been married so she has had plenty of time to study the subject and, as my wife points out, is able to lecture about it from an un- prejudiced viewpoint. “The lecturer said last week we should do our best to meet our children. I told my wife I was getting good at that, especially meeting them in res- taurants; but she was busy writing up the lecture in her notebook and didn’t hear me. Perhaps it was just as well. But to-night we are going to have a home-cooked dinner. I know because I'm going to cook it myself.” McC. H. peta Seer Qaate se WOOL Cerrar CARD . ONY VAM BEAZLVAS: Seeseres OER Oh Need BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF A WEDDING Mrs. Pep’s Diary (Continued from page 4) against the good intentions of his friends. In fact, the better a woman's deportment, the more likely she is to receive a wicker work-basket lined with leather....To the playhouse after din- ner, a dreary piece, too, and when a tap came at a door in the third act and the hero hoarsed, Who is that? Sam whispered, I hope it is Brooke Johns with his banjo, whereat neighbors who overheard waxed so merry that the star looked down menac- ingly from the stage....This day I did weaken and open one of my Christ- mas packages, a lucky lapse, too, for it was a fine silver box from Amy Cos- grove, and I had provided naught for her save a pair of silken hose. Bid. THE outpourings of Presidential as- pirants raise the question whether there is anything less candid than a candidacy. comicbooks.com