Judge, 1916-05-06 · page 6 of 28
Judge — May 6, 1916 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks domestic dynamics of the era. A husband fabricates excuses (headache, important call, business matters) to avoid his wife's club's annual "Gentlemen's Night" event. The wife, speaking to the reader, systematically dismantles each excuse while enthusiastically detailing the evening's attractions: a decorated table, a guest reading letters from European trenches, a poet reading sonnets, a female orchestra, and theatrical performances. The satire targets male reluctance toward cultural events their wives organize, and male resistance to social obligations generally. The husband's dramatic comparison—going "as soon go to the electric chair"—exaggerates his resistance to what the wife clearly views as a refined, worthwhile evening. A secondary joke appears below: a woman admits she invites another guest "because she makes such a good decoration," mocking superficial social conventions where people are valued as aesthetic objects rather than companions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FATHER AND IS WIFE speaks: Yes you are going, father. The idea of saying that you are not when I have laid all of your eve- ning clothes out and—you have a headache? When did you find it out? You never said anything about it until I began to speak about this being the “gentlemen’s night ” of our club and then you suddenly have a headache and you are expecting an im- portant telephone call that you ought to be here to answer and your partner may come over to talk over an important matter of business, and you feel as if a cold were coming on, and you feel as if a hot bath and going to bed carly would ward it off. Can't you think of some other on for not going? Now, father, we hav “gentlemen's night” justonce oe a year and—you thank the “GENTLEMEN’S NIGHT” a beautifully decorated table. I helped to decorate it this after noon. One of our own members who has an own cousin in the trenches in Europe is going to read one of his letters and Mrs. Penn- wyper, who wrote “A Lad and His Loves” is to be the guest of honor and Edwyn Alberto Rymer who; some say, is the coming poet is to read some of his sonnets. You'll have a lovely time! Come now, get ready as soon as you can for—the idea of saying that you would as scun go to the electric chair! You men do affect a lot! —Max Merryman. It’s easier to live within one’s income than without it Lord for that? Well, so long as we have it only once a year i ems to me that—you'll give me twenty dollars for a new hat if I will let you off? I am not going alone when all the other ladies will have their husbands there, and I'll get the hat anyhow. Weare going to have a perfectly delightful eve- ning. We are going to have an orchestra composed of six of our own lady members and eight others are going to give a lovely little play and—What do you mean by groaning as if you had had an instantaneous attack of lumbago? I tell you it is going to be lovely. And another of our members is going toread the sleep-walk- ing scene from “Macbeth,” and we—what? The movies look good to you if they never did before? Now, father, I just believe that you are putting on a lot of this. Once you are there you will have an awfully nice time. We are going to have ice cream and cake and cocoa and coffee served from a He—Why do you always invite Mrs. Schuyler to your parties ? She—Because she makes such a good decoration. comicbooks.com