Judge — June 16, 1928 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis for Modern Readers This Judge magazine page contains two satirical pieces about marriage, reflecting early-20th-century cynicism about matrimony. The **top cartoon** depicts a couple escaping traffic via an absurd flying automobile—commentary on automobiles' growing presence and danger, treated as relief from modern life's chaos. The **"Suggested Marriage Ceremony"** cartoon mocks marriage vows, with a couple answering they'll remain faithful "until we meet someone we like better"—cynical humor about marital commitment. The **poem "Practically Nothing in Matrimony"** (attributed to Mr. Hoffenstein) is bitter satire listing marriage's supposed drawbacks: losing freedom, financial control by wives, divorce costs, and alimony payments. It depicts marriage as a poor bargain where men sacrifice independence and money for an unstable arrangement. The overall tone is misogynistic by modern standards, presenting wives as financial drains and marriage as men's loss of autonomy—reflecting period anxieties about women's increasing economic and legal rights.