Life — July 31, 1931 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page This page contains two satirical pieces about courtship and marriage: **Top Section ("Why We've Given Up Arguing"):** A cartoon dialogue between a young couple in a car shows modern dating where substantive disagreement has been replaced by passive acceptance. Rather than debate ideas, they simply defer to age, authority, or agree to disagree—reflecting post-WWI generational shifts where younger people questioned traditional values but lacked conviction to argue them through. **Bottom Section ("In Choosing a Wife"):** A humorous advice column by Brook Braunwacke parodies contemporary "how-to" articles. It sarcastically suggests evaluating potential wives through absurdly reductive inspections (examine her eyes, hair, teeth; shake her shoulders; check family history)—mocking both overly analytical approaches to marriage and paternalistic attitudes toward women as acquisitions rather than partners. Both pieces satirize modern dating conventions of the 1920s-30s era.