Judge — October 16, 1920 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "L'Enfant Terrible" Analysis This sketch satirizes social hypocrisy regarding physical disability and appearance. The title refers to a "terrible child" (French phrase for an embarrassingly candid youngster). The scene depicts a dinner party where a well-dressed man with a severely twisted or disfigured face is present. A child openly asks the mother why the man's face is "twisted up that way." The mother's response—"Hush, darling; the poor gentleman can't help it. He'll be quite terrible when he grows up, won't he, Mutter-there?"—reveals the cartoon's point: adults claim to pity the disabled while making cruel, condescending remarks themselves. The satire targets Victorian-era genteel society's hypocrisy: publicly condemning children's honest observations while engaging in private mockery of those with visible disabilities.