Judge — March 22, 1913 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Magazine, March 22, 1913 This cartoon by Paul Starr depicts two well-dressed church-goers in a pew—a man reading and a fashionably dressed woman wearing an elaborate hat. The caption reads "IN THE RIGHT CHURCH BUT THE WRONG PEW." The satire targets social climbing and church etiquette among the wealthy. The woman's ostentatious hat (a status symbol of the era) and formal attire suggest she and her companion are attempting to appear respectable by attending church, yet they've positioned themselves improperly—"the wrong pew." This likely mocks the pretensions of newly wealthy individuals trying to fit into established social hierarchies by mimicking proper behavior while missing genuine social conventions. The joke hinges on performative respectability versus actual understanding of one's place in society.