Judge — May 16, 1903 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This appears to be a society or romantic cartoon titled "Always Rejected," drawn by artist Penrhyn Stanlaws. The sketch shows two fashionably dressed women in what appears to be an elegant interior setting with draped curtains and decorative furnishings. The dialogue reveals the joke: Corinne asks Mabel if a "dear boy" thinks marriage is a failure, and whether he's tried it. Mabel responds that he hasn't tried marriage itself, but has failed repeatedly at *proposing* to get married. The humor lies in the romantic disappointment—a man who keeps proposing but being rejected each time. It's typical early-20th-century Judge magazine humor about courtship, playing on the conventional trope of persistent male suitors facing female rejection. The artwork exemplifies the magazine's sophisticated, fashion-conscious aesthetic of that era.