Judge, 1890-05-31 · page 20 of 24
Judge — May 31, 1890 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes melodramatic Victorian theater tropes—stock scenes guaranteed to provoke audience applause. Each illustration depicts exaggerated theatrical moments: spurned lovers delivering emotional denunciations ("Farewell, proud Evelina"), last-minute plot reversals (discovered wills saving the day), betrayals by trusted friends, revelations of ruin and shame, and righteous defenses of feminine virtue (an Irishman protecting his daughter's honor). The satire mocks both the predictable, overwrought scenarios playwrights relied upon and audiences' reliable emotional responses to them. These clichéd situations—seduction, financial ruin, infidelity, honor—were theatrical staples designed to manipulate viewers into applause regardless of artistic merit. The page is essentially making fun of formulaic theater's cheap emotional manipulation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
farewell, proud Evelina; some day you will implore the love of the poor but hones man whose devotion you Bave so coldly epurnes © Saved! saved !! saved!!! my own stricken dove. Are 4.25 you listening, woman? The missing will is found !" A “And you, Elphinstone Mulligatawney; you, whom 1 considered my best friend, would cast your infernal enares Sround the one who promised to be By wile on my return {rom Australia, Take that, you dog !" jumpergood, you have blasted my Iite-hopes, have c dtnreyed my 4 my home, and have caused me to become & on the face of the earth. But not strike now. Howssr Inst Lap —" Back, scoundrel ! and learn that old Fi rant to prolong your agony” Ireland has still bonest hearts to protect its daughters!" THEATRICAL SITUATIONS WHICH NEVER FAIL TO “BRING DOWN THE HOUSE.” comicbooks.com