Judge — October 11, 1902 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1902 Judge cartoon satirizes romantic obsession. A man ("Poor Jack") is so lovesick over a woman named Miss Gotrox that he's developed dyspepsia (indigestion) and can only eat bread and milk. The joke's punchline is cynical: if he's reduced to such a meager diet anyway, he should easily afford to live without her—suggesting that romantic devotion is economically irrational. The cartoon mocks both Jack's emotional excess and, implicitly, the artificial desperation men perform in courtship. The silhouetted figures and period dress are typical of Judge's satirical style, using exaggeration to critique contemporary social behavior, particularly the melodramatic romanticism of the era.