Judge — June 30, 1900 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a single-panel cartoon satirizing wealth disparity and marital economics. The dialogue references "old Millyuns" (a wealthy man) seeking divorce from his young wife on grounds of "economy"—a darkly comic contradiction, since divorce from a young spouse would typically be expensive due to alimony and settlements. The joke targets wealthy men who marry young women for companionship or status, then seek to escape the financial obligations. The elegant illustration shows a fashionably dressed woman, emphasizing her role as a costly accessory. The satire mocks both the absurdity of claiming "economy" motivates the divorce and society's acceptance of May-December marriages among the rich. The cartoon reflects early 20th-century concerns about marriage as a financial transaction.