Life, 1886-08-05 · page 1 of 16
Life — August 5, 1886 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Who'd Be a Bachelor?" - Life Magazine, August 5, 1886 This satirical cartoon mocks the domestic burdens of unmarried men caring for children. The scene shows a harried bachelor managing multiple youngsters in cramped quarters, with trunks and household goods scattered about. The accompanying dialogue presents a conversation between "Peter Familias" (a family man) and a bachelor friend. Peter ironically claims bachelorhood is ideal given "hard times," but reveals the real issue: where would everyone sleep? He notes he can't expect children to share the bachelor's space, suggesting bachelors lack resources for family life. The satire critiques both the impracticality of unmarried men as caregivers and Victorian assumptions about domestic arrangements. It's fundamentally a joke about why men should marry—society expected bachelors to be unprepared for child-rearing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A NSS VOLUME VIII. NEW YORK, AUGUST 5, 1886. Entered at New York Post Office ag Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1686, by MITCHELL & MILLER. SIMPSON J WHO ’D BE A BACHELOR? Pater Familias (just arrived at watering place hotel): Tis ROOM IS THE BEST I COULD GET, ~ MY DEAR. TIMES ARE VERY HARD, YOU KNOW. Mater Familias: BuT WHERE ARE WE ALL TO SLEEP? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT WE HAVE THREE CHILDREN ? P. F. (earnestly); No, BUT I THOUGHT THE CHILDREN COULD SLEEP WITH YOU, AND J WOULD OCCUPY ONE OF THE TRUNKS. I pO N'T EXPECT TO HAVE MUCH OF A TIME ANYWAY. comicbooks.com