Life — July 21, 1927 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Week's End" by Dorothy Parker This is a satirical short story, not a political cartoon. The illustration shows a chaotic scene with playing cards, theatrical masks, and elegantly dressed figures in a decorative border—suggesting the glamorous but frivolous social world Parker is satirizing. The text depicts a wealthy woman fretting over trivial weekend plans: what to wear to dinner, managing guests, arranging a country trip, and navigating domestic staff. Parker's satire mocks the self-centered anxieties of upper-class leisure culture, where women obsess over social appearances and minor domestic dramas while remaining oblivious to larger concerns. The ornate, busy illustration reinforces the visual excess and superficiality of this world—a classic Parker critique of wealthy idleness disguised as witty, breathless narration.