Judge — January 9, 1904 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This illustration by Penrhyn Stanlaws depicts two fashionable women skating or moving across ice. The caption reads: "Ethel—'How did you get him to apologize?' Edith—'I told him never to speak to me again.'" The cartoon satirizes early 20th-century courtship dynamics and female strategy in relationships. It suggests that women could manipulate men through calculated indifference or ultimatums—specifically, that threatening silence would prompt an apology. The joke targets both the portrayed "Ethel" character's cunning and the implied foolishness of men who capitulate to such tactics. The stylish clothing and leisure setting (ice-skating) indicate these are privileged women, typical of Judge's upper-class audience and satirical scope.