Judge, 1918-08-10 · page 11 of 32
Judge — August 10, 1918 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "The Way of the Wayfaring Woman" This story-cartoon satirizes the self-absorbed complaining of middle-class traveling women of the era. The protagonist's frustration over missing a train berth exposes how she blames everyone—the shop girl (slow with change), her sister (delaying her with dessert), the ticket agent—rather than accepting responsibility for her own poor planning and tardiness. The humor lies in her escalating rationalizations: she didn't *need* the dessert or the store item, yet delays for them anyway, then resents the consequences. The title's "wayfaring woman" suggests restless, rootless modern femininity, while her entitled demands on service workers (the ticket agent's indifference is pointedly noted) and victim mentality represent satire of upper-middle-class female behavior. The separate cartoon caption at bottom appears unrelated to this story.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Draven by Norman Axtuony Rejectep, sut L The Way of the Wayfaring Woman By Paut Creicuton “TFOWANT a nice lower berth in the middle of the Pullman,” said the middle-aged lady with the somewhat agitated look some ladies always as- sume when they are traveling. “Sorry, ma’am; but all the berths are taken,” replied the ticket agent with no marked sign of grief on his face, his whole interest seeming to be focussed ona pear he was peeling. “What! All the berths are taken? “Yes’m. I sold the last one not more than five minutes ago.” “And I suppose that it was a lower berth, too “Yes, ’twas.” “And if [ had been here five or six minutes sooner I could have had it?” “You sure could.” “Who got it?” “Some man.” “Do you suppose that you could get him to take an upper berth and let me ud “There are no upper berths to be had. Every berth in the car is taken.” “And it hasn’t been more than five minutes since you sold the last berth? “Not longer than that.” “Well, if that isn’t too provoking! I stopped at a store to get something I could just as well have done without and it took them so long to make change! I told the girl who waited on me that I w. in a hurry to get a train, but you know that never makes any difference to one of those shop girls, and here if I had been only five minutes earlier I could have had that nice lower berth! You say that it is only about five minutes since it was taken? eD FOR Limitep SERVICE “That’s all, ma’am.” “And I told my sister whom I have been visiting that I was afraid I would be late and I wanted to come away without any of the des- sert she had made for luncheon, but she said she had made it espe- cially for me, because it was some- thing she knew I was fond of. It was coffee mousse but, my goodness, I would rather never have seen any more coffee mousse than to have missed getting that berth. And you say it was taken not more than five minutes ago “It's nearer fifteen minutes only five minutes when I first came to the window, and I could have been here ten minutes earlier just as well as not if I hadn’t waited for that dessert I didn’t need, and then gone into that store to get something I could have waited until I got home to get. I think I could have got here in time to get that berth anyhow if they hadn’t been so long making change in that store, and here I have an all-night and all-day and all-night ride before me and you say that there is not a berth to be had. Do you suppose any holder of a berth will be likely to be giving it up?” “Tt isn’t likely with the train starting in seven minutes.” “Oh, my soul, does it start that soon? And I haven’t checked my trunk yet! Of course I ought to have ordered the berth in advance, but I didn’t expect to go home until the end of the week. Then I gota Drawon by R. B. Futter Binks—Mary, is there any German blood in your side of the family? comicbooks.com | | | |