Life — November 17, 1887 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Hare the Millennium" - Life Magazine Satire This satirical cartoon mocks romantic and social pretensions of the wealthy elite. The central figure appears to be a large, pompous character labeled "TYPE-WRITER" surrounded by well-dressed society people, soldiers, and courtiers arranged on clouds—suggesting heavenly or idealized aspiration. The caption references an improbable future marriage between "the impecunious dude" and a washerwoman, with promises that a tailor will become "the artist his model," and an author will "promise to love, honor and obey her father's coachman." The satire ridicules the Gilded Age fantasy of crossing class boundaries through romance and social climbing—suggesting such scenarios are as unlikely as the millennium itself arriving. The contrast between the elevated figures and those below emphasizes class tensions and the absurdity of such social reversals.