Life, 1926-02-11 · page 11 of 40
Life — February 11, 1926 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces about working-class women's lives circa early 20th century. **"Gold-Digger's Dirge"** (poem by Arthur L. Lippmann): Mocks young working women—factory workers, nurses, shop girls—who pursue material security through relationships with wealthier men. The satire criticizes their aspirations for "decent meals" and engagement rings, portraying them as mercenary while acknowledging their economic desperation. **"A Sleepless Night"** (cartoon): Shows a hotel proprietor and guest in conversation, illustrating a humorous domestic scenario. **"Bedtime Story for Poor Working Girls"** (story by John P. Maratta): A Cinderella-style tale about a working girl meeting a wealthy "Fairy Godfather" from Wall Street, satirizing working-class women's fantasies of marrying up and escaping poverty through romantic rescue rather than economic advancement. The overall theme critiques both working women's economic vulnerability and society's dismissal of their legitimate material needs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Gold-Digger’s Dirge ORKING girls, working girls, factory and clerking girls, Nurse girls, diverse girls and lunch-room cashiers, Hat- and coat-checking girls, show-room bedecking girls, Lift up your shingles and lend me your ears: My new roadster done in ochre was a present from a broker, But the poor sap lost his dough in Titan Steel And the checks he gives his baby nowadays—I don’t mean maybe— 1 to buy a girl a decent meal That Adonis from Atlanta, who was once my all-year ¢ is thy stin y the only trinket Now has quit me cold—oh, death, w Listen, dearie, we you think it when I from him this weck’s my diamond ring! , good at cooing, still I find there’s little doing ; I'm a Broadway belle, though rated “ Just a graduate gold-digger, with appearanc not so dumb”— . pep and figger, But the in try, alas, is on the bum! Poor gitls, obscure girls, blasé manicure girls, Stage girls and page girls and feminine cops, Movie show ushers and sob-sister slushers And dome-heavy gushers in tea-rooms and “shoppes,” Yours is a breezy life, quite free-and-easy life; Mine is a cheesy life, I'm here to tell. Daddies are stingier, diamonds are dingier— Gawd, but business is going to hell! Arthur 1. Lippmann A Sleepless Night OTEL PROPRIETOR: Good morning, sir; did you sleep well? Guest: No, I did not. There was a wrinkle in the lower sheet and I dreamt all night of Hannibal crossing the Alps JUST A GIRL THAT MEN FORGET LIFE - “OM, KID, WOULDN'T IT BE GR-RAN “T WAS IN THE MOV “you WHYDJA GET out?” “1 WOIKED TOO FAST FOR THE CAMERA! Bedtime Story for Poor Working Girls INDERELLA had pa's new pocket flask, wh finished embroider caused her to step out of her ch to the front door. Sure enc one hundred lling Stone Roadster from Wall Street was just steppi twenty-horsepower Twin 7 Hastily shaking permanent the cinder sarette ashes from her . Cin- th i her nose a her coat of du: derella changed her a spin with I ndfather s were gc s) wher » the walk. She looked like something the cat forgot to drag in Grandpa adjusted his horn - lighted a. cigare East and West. “AIL I got to say,” he that people who wear glass slippers should go boat riding.” John P. Mara Are you both Iness MAN (a hter): No; in fact, I rather like it. comicbooks.com