Judge, 1924-04-26 · page 7 of 36
Judge — April 26, 1924 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Strange Wife" and Related Satires (Judge Magazine, 1924) This page satirizes women's changing social roles in the 1920s. "The Strange Wife" contrasts four college friends: Millicent runs for Congress, Myrtle leads a women's political party, Jane raises fancy dogs while affecting masculine dress and smoking—all considered progressive. Lucy, however, stays home raising babies and cooking for her husband. Her friends ostracize her as "cracked" and old-fashioned, viewing domesticity as career-damaging. The satire cuts both ways: the page mocks both the ambitious "New Woman" pursuing politics and business, and the social pressure against traditional homemakers during this era of female empowerment. The other cartoons joke about inflation ("cottage pudding" renamed "bungalow fluff" at triple the price) and how women abandoned intellectual pretensions ("highbrow stuff") once they realized men found them more appealing when silent and attractive—a dig at female strategic conformity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tue Strance Wire (A Modern Tale of 1924) [ 18" four college girls several years ago. They were all pretty girls and were engaged before they graduated they we married soon after. Well, Millicent is going to run for Congress, she’s been Mayor of her home town for a year and has condueted the administration finely, folks say. Myrtle leads the woman’s party for her State. She goes about from place giving speeches, in halls, schoolhouses and even on oxes at street corners. She's. a lot to advance the cause of polities, general club life and equal rights on all things in general, for women. ‘They say she gets home once in a while, Jane has gone in for raising fancy dogs and cats. She travels extensively in her business and knows more about dog and cat parentage and where the best parents can be found than any in the country. She affects asculine attire to some extent, smokes cigarettes and can tell what the drummers a good story. But they all cut little Lucy. They never call on her at all. They are really afraid it would affect their careers—get themselves talked about and referred to as back numbers, old- fashioned, and behind the times. Lucy has two babies, and stays at home and y 7 Zp _ takes care of them herself. She cooks Z y Caste hart for her husband, is very busy most of the time and is a s singing. Voi A g ; oice from upstairs—Jane, does Mr. 2 Her three old college chums think Sing from upstairs jane, does Mr. Stayer play golf she is a lite cracked or something. “Well, ask him if he knows what ‘starting-time’ means.” WILLIAM SANFORD. Joy Attuocen Joy was lovely, She would talk: of Shaw, Rave about complexes And the Einstein law, So that all the fellows Were soon scared away By the weighty wisdom, That she would display. Joy employs new tac For she soon got wise; She forgets the highbrow ind makes use of her eyes: Now she docs the listening, When the fellows come, “Waiter, what is this on the bill?” And they say that lovely Joy “Bungalow fluff, sir, at forty cents a portion.” Is beautiful but dumb! “But what is it?” E. D. k. “Formerly cottage pudding, sir, at fifteen.”