Judge — June 5, 1920 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cartoon (June 5, 1929) This cartoon by Walter De Maris depicts a domestic scene with satirical commentary on marriage and healthcare costs. An older man sits on a couch, appearing distressed, while his wife stands nearby. The caption reads: "Old Husband—This confounded rheumatism gives me the blues. New Wife—Cheer up, dear. Here's your doctor's bill. I'll make you see red." The joke satirizes the financial burden of medical bills as a "cure" worse than the illness itself. The "new wife" character suggests either a recent remarriage or a commentary on younger wives' materialism. The humor relies on the common trope of spouses exacerbating their husbands' anxieties—here, substituting physical pain with financial anxiety from expensive healthcare. The cartoon reflects 1920s concerns about rising medical costs and marital tensions over money.