Judge, 1906-12-22 · page 16 of 48
Judge — December 22, 1906 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces mocking gender relations and consumer culture in the Gilded Age: **"City-Bred Fears"** (top): A boy and girl encounter animal tracks; the girl fears cows, humorously suggesting urban-bred women lack practical knowledge. **"Her Cause for Grief"** (center): A woman complains her husband bought her an unflattering gown and bonnet as Christmas gifts despite her preferences. The satire targets both husbands who ignore women's input on appearance and women's apparent ingratitude for expensive gifts—a common domestic comedy trope of the era. **"Worse and Worse"** (bottom): A dialogue suggests returning gifts, implying people resell unwanted presents as new gifts—commentary on consumer excess and insincerity. **"He Was Just Wondering"**: A husband jokes that if women achieve equality with men, Santa Claus will wear a corset—satirizing both women's rights debates and fashion absurdity. **"It Seems So"**: A quip that population centers exist at bargain counters, mocking women's shopping habits. The overall theme: contemporary anxieties about changing gender roles, consumerism, and marriage tensions.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Bor—"'! don't know Jest whether dem’s bear-tracks or cow-tracks.”” Gin. (shivering) —"* Well, if you think they's cow-tracks I'm golng back home. HER CAUSE FOR GRIEF, 66 ONLY LAST Christ. mas,” she sobbed, with her head buried in the sofa-cushions, so that her voice sounded muffled and afar off, “he brought home a new gown, for which he had paid out an extravagant sum of money. The gown was of a tint that was at bitter enmity with my complexion, and I can never wear it; the Christ- mas before he brought home a bonnet—just think of that !—a bonnet, in which I looked such a fright that the witch of Endor would have seemed one of Worth’s customers by con- trast. “T reasoned with him patiently, and his only answer was that he enjoyed doing little things to sur- prise me, I tried to make him see that it is no pleasure to a. woman to be surprised with articles of wearing apparel, as she has to pick and choose such things her- self in order to make them at all suitable, He seemed at last to understand, and he promised faithfully that next time he bought some- thing for me he would con- sult me first, or simply give me the money and let me buy it for myself. CITY-BRED FEARS. I'm afraid of cows."* “T was so glad when he promised, and I felt our troubles of that kind were over. I hated so to seem unappreciative, but I could not even pretend to be glad over those awful things he had brought me. «B-b-but this Christ- mas,” and here her parox- ysms of grief were touching to behold, * he went and did the worst thing yet—he bought me a pair of corsets and a full double set of false teeth—and without m-m-m- my being m-m-measured for e-e-e-either of th-th-them WORSE AND WORSE. What's John bringing that one back for?” Why, it's getting so you can’t even work them off as Christmas gifts.” Bos-hoo-00-00-00 !" And we went softly away, for there was nothing we could say that would help matters in the least. awe, HE WAS JUST WON- DERING. 46 HENRY,” said Mrs. Peck, * what are you thinking about ?” “Twas just wondering if, when women are on an equal footing with men, Santa Claus will wear a corset.” IT SEEMS SO. 6s \VJHERE are the cen- tres of population, pa?” “Around the bargain- counters, my son !” comicbooks.com