Life — September 20, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Broken Heart" by John Van Ness This is a short story rather than political satire. The narrative concerns a man reminiscing about a Spanish dancer named Felicia whom he knew years ago in South America. He had taught her to sing and dance, and she became celebrated throughout the continent. However, when she moved to New York, she fell in love with a prizefighter and abandoned her theatrical career. Now married with children, she has disappeared from public life entirely. The story explores themes of lost love and squandered artistic talent—a common literary subject of the era. The accompanying illustration shows what appears to be a theatrical or social gathering, though the story's focus is on the narrator's nostalgic regret about Felicia's abandonment of her promising career.