Judge — December 7, 1907 — page 30: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This domestic humor cartoon depicts a married couple (the Parkes) facing a Christmas dilemma: hosting relatives at home or traveling to visit them. Both options were considered burdensome—hosting meant housekeeping labor and expense, while visiting meant travel inconvenience. Mr. Parke's solution—giving up housekeeping entirely and boarding elsewhere—satirizes the couple's desire to escape family obligations altogether. The humor lies in the absurdity of abandoning one's home as a practical solution to holiday stress. This reflects early 20th-century middle-class anxieties about Christmas hospitality expectations and domestic duties, particularly for women managing households. The cartoon mocks the desperation couples felt when facing unavoidable holiday family entanglements, suggesting that even radical life changes seemed preferable.