Life — June 21, 1929 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Alicia Marries" - A Satirical Short Story This is a literary short story by A. L. Anniston, not a political cartoon. The accompanying illustration shows a social scene at what appears to be a nightclub or bar. The narrative satirizes the social dynamics of the era: a narrator and his friend Ferdy frequented a club where they'd encounter Alicia Devins, a musical comedy star. The satire centers on masculine entitlement and social hypocrisy—the men feel they "owned" Alicia through shared outings, yet when she marries someone named Jessup, they're shocked and wounded by her autonomy. The story mocks how men of this period viewed women's independence and their own presumed claims on women's availability. The piece reflects 1920s social attitudes about gender and relationships.