Life, 1885-09-10 · page 1 of 16
Life — September 10, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Extenuating" - Life Magazine, September 10, 1885 This cartoon satirizes parental attitudes toward children's misbehavior. A stern rector (clergyman) questions a little girl about kindergarten attendance, asking if the children behave well. When she mentions that "Johnny Sharp" and "Harry Brown" misbehaved, the rector expresses hope they're "very good" and "never say or do anything naughty." The humor lies in the rector's obvious hypocrisy and the girl's candid response: she reports the boys weren't foolish—they were deliberately rude. The title "Extenuating" suggests the rector is making excuses for bad behavior rather than condemning it, likely reflecting Victorian-era class anxieties about which children's misconduct could be overlooked or excused based on social standing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME VI. NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 10, 1885. NUMBER 141. Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. egawrceeiss EXTENUATING. Young Rector: YOU GO TO THE KINDERGARTEN, LITTLE GIRL? Little Girl: YetH, THIR. Rector: THERE ARE MANY LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS AT THE KINDERGARTEN? “1. G.: YETH, THIR. Rector: 1 HOPE THEY ARE VERY GOOD, AND NEVER SAY OR DO ANYTHING NAUGHTY ? . L. G.: WELL, THIR, JOHNNY SHARP DID 1HAY THAT HARRY BROWN WATH A D——N FOOL, BUT THEN HE ITH, YOU KNow! comicbooks.com