Life, 1924-05-08 · page 7 of 42
Life — May 8, 1924 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical poem addressing the goddess Artemis (Diana), contrasting ancient ideals of chastity and hunting prowess with 1920s "flapper" culture. The illustrated figures show modern women in contemporary dress alongside classical mythological imagery. The satire mocks young women of the Jazz Age for abandoning traditional virtues—the poem accuses them of being "cold," "ruthless," and "strange" rather than embodying Artemis's noble qualities. References to "chaste Diana," hunting, and staghounds contrast with critiques of modern behavior, including the line about "Actaeon" (the hunter turned to stag), suggesting moral transgressions. The piece represents conservative criticism of 1920s women's liberation and changing sexual mores during the flapper era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Flapper to Artemis Elizabeth Newport Hepburn CAN'T understand The reason men worship you so Poets and sculptors and everyday folk— All those ac They gave you the mc And forests of s The lovelies Yet you are so col As cold as the wind from So ruthless, so cruel, so \ goddess, who kills! They call you “chaste Dian How one looked on your beaut Is that chastity? I call it rag Black temper and merciless pric For think of young Actaon there Like some shy boy, wh« ares at a rose \-bloom in a thicket « ms. Nor dreams that the re his foes You, neither a rose nor a girl You acted the part of a shrew Turned Actz into ¢ Saw his hunting dogs tear him in two. Some cavil at Venus and say That she is a wanton, but I Would rather spring nude from the foam of her seas Than freeze, with your moon. in the sky! comicbooks.com