Life, 1925-08-27 · page 15 of 36
Life — August 27, 1925 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the "ideal husband" through ironic praise. The text catalogs a man's virtues while the illustrations undermine them. He brings home candy but never improves the home; he enjoys poker luck but his wife funds his habits; he's attentive yet dismissive of her concerns. The upper cartoon shows "The Descent of Woman"—a man shooting an arrow at a classical female statue, suggesting modern marriage diminishes women's dignity. The lower cartoon depicts "Woman's Work Is Never Done," showing a woman juggling household duties while a man arrives home. The satire targets early 20th-century gender dynamics: husbands presented as thoughtless yet praised as "peerless," while wives labor endlessly with minimal appreciation or partnership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Peerless Husband E brings home a little candy with the bacon. He never says: “I wish to heaven we could have some decent coffee in this house!” He docs not sing in the bathtub, He loves to don his evening clothes. He can't even sce a joke on his wife, much less tell it. He likes all her girlhood friends, and urges her to ask them to meals. His mother is dead; his father is a millionaire of eighty-two with acute diabetes; he is their only child. It is not necessary to hint to him about impending anniversaries, He never repeats his favorite anec- dotes. He never says: “Where did you get hat?” He does not snore. He gets a hearty laugh out of his wiie’s disastrous adventures with her check-book. He is extremely lucky at poker, and splits his winnings with his wife. He pours a second cocktail for her without giving her a long, black look. “That's all right, darling!” when she fails to lead him the one card by which they could have saved rubber, When he pauses before a window filled with luscious lingerie, he always brings home a sample of the contents. He says: THE DESCENT He never lets the barber put bay rum or cau vegelale on him. He can always get a taxi when it’s raining. He can order a perfect dinner. His jewelry consists only of studs and sleeve links. He loves to have her play golf with him, and takes her to all his class re- unions, He doesn’t reminisce with old col- lege friends about the time they were WOMAN’S WORK IS NEVER DONE OF WOMAN arrested outside Gilfanti’s, or the night they motored the baggage master’s red- haired daughter to Sunderland Notch. He is more attentive to his wife than to any other woman in the room. When he says: “You can get me at the club,” he is telling the truth. When he says: “I'll be home at six,” ditto. He acts promptly when his wife thinks she hears a burglar in the house or is annoyed by a banging door or flapping window-shade, When his wife says she'll be ready in a minute, he sits down patiently to read a book, instead of standing at the foot of the stairs and bawling at her. He doesn't mind how old beaux his wife has to tea or goes out to luncheon with, He doesn’t care how his wife wears her hair. He doesn't try to get Miami on the radio when something swell is coming through from Vincent Lopez. eee ma “Where, oh, where can he be?” Baird Leonard. Amanuensis HER flying fingers write; and having writ, Fly on; nor all your prayers nor caustic wit Shall move her to decipher half a line, Or transcribe any single word of it. R. B. comicbooks.com