Judge, 1917-06-23 · page 14 of 28
Judge — June 23, 1917 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon uses humor to address anxieties about masculinity during World War I. The six panels show a man's transformation from a domestic, pampered husband into a soldier ready for military service—depicted through enlistment, uniform-fitting, drill training, and trench-digging practice. The accompanying text satirizes contemporary advice to wives about "training" husbands like children through discipline, distraction with "brightly-colored silks," and threats of maternal interference. The cartoon's point appears to be ironic: that military discipline and patriotic service will finally make men into responsible adults that civilian wives' nagging never could. The satire targets both overly controlling wives and the notion that husbands need such management—suggesting that patriotic duty and military structure accomplish what domestic life cannot.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
5—Hiking for health. 6—Digging trenches for practice. PATRIOTISM WINS and play with other husbands—after you have made sure, of course, that they are good, well-behaved husbands. The com- hip of these innocent sports will tend to make him one must be very careful, for he is highly impressionable. At this time a wife will do well to look out for her husband herself, instead of entrusting him to some empty-headed girl, whom she may not really know at all. If he needs amusement let her divert him with brightly-colored silks and baubles. Let her take him to see the pretty theater, and show him the beautiful mountains and the big blue ocean, and tell him fairy stories about economy, and teach him to draw nice big cheques in his little cheque book. Discipline cannot begin too early. The husband must be taught that he can have only the things that his wife decides are best for him, and that no protesting on his part will do any good. If he proves fretful, chide him by threatening to go live with your mother. If, after that, he is still unruly, threaten to have your mother come live with you. In this way he will soon learn to mind. Indeed, before long you will be able to show him off before company with the comicbooks,com