Judge, 1915-01-16 · page 11 of 24
Judge — January 16, 1915 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story depicts a physician's misdiagnosis of a female patient's ailments. Mrs. Nordlaw presents with nervousness, heart palpitations, and depression. The doctor attributes her symptoms to lifestyle—excessive candy consumption, too much social activity, dancing, and insufficient exercise—recommending moderation. The satire targets early-20th-century medical practice: physicians (particularly male) blaming women's "nervous" conditions on moral or behavioral failings rather than investigating genuine medical causes. The irony emerges as the doctor confidently prescribes lifestyle changes while explicitly stating "that remains to be seen" about the actual diagnosis—suggesting he never identifies the real problem. The cartoon mocks both paternalistic medical advice and the era's tendency to pathologize women's social engagement as inherently unhealthy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SSS SSS ee o™ so strange I thought I should go “ys IT anything serious?” me = Mrs. Nordlaw looked at her mt back to bed and call you."* physician with apprehension as he | AN ERROR IN DIAGNOSIS “Do you eat much candy?" studied his thermometer and felt Be os as WALDRON and he indicated a partly emptied her pulse. => SE = Sate == box on the bed. “That remains to be seen,"’ “Tlove it! Ieat it whenever replied the physician solemnly and with a wise glance. ‘‘What I crave sweets. And that happens to be often." have been your symptoms?’” “So? But too much is not good for you. How about exercise “Why, I've had flushes and chills, nervousness, fluttering here’’ —your activities? You go about a good deal—and perhaps dance —she indicated her heart—‘‘and strange alternations of depression — much?"" and" “Yes—yes! I understand.”” “I'm naturally strong, am I not, doctor? You've said so more than once."* “Naturally. Yes. But even the strong, you know, are some- times" “But, really, is there anything to fear? I am terribly nervous, as you see!"" “*Your condition may be temporary—your indisposition slight. Your appetite is’ “Oh, always the same Good. I ate a very hearty dinner last night, and it wasn’t until after breakfast this morning that I felt “Why, I'm on the go all the time! As for dancing, really, I can't refrain from it. I adore **Well, tell me of your activities, say, for the past two or three days."” “Let's see. This is Sunday, is it not?’’ **Yes. Don’t you hear the church bells? I was about to start for church when you called me. Do you go to church very often?’” ‘Always at Easter. And now and then. My late husband was not a church-goer, you know.'’ There was a suspicion of a tear. **But you must not think me a barbarian, doctor!"’ “No. You are full of life and must have social excitement Quite right.’’ comicbooks.com