Judge, 1918-01-19 · page 9 of 28
Judge — January 19, 1918 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes a male singer's emotional performance of romantic songs. Two women gossip about him: one claims he sings love-songs "like a married man" (implying restrained, passionless delivery), while her companion counters he sings them "like a bigamist" (suggesting excessive passion divided among multiple lovers). The joke plays on period attitudes about marriage dampening romantic ardor, while simultaneously implying the singer's passionate performance suggests infidelity or divided affections. The elegant interior setting and well-dressed guests suggest this is a formal social gathering where such romantic musical performances were common entertainment. The satire targets both the singer's apparent emotional excess and period assumptions about how marriage affects male romantic expression.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THOSE COOL NIGHT AIRS “Yes, the authorities should prohibit his singing of those passionate love-songs. Emily says he sings them like a married man.” “My dear, he sings them like a bigamist!”