Life, 1888-04-26 · page 1 of 18
Life — April 26, 1888 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "He Was Over Sensitive" - Life Magazine, April 26, 1888 This domestic comedy sketch satirizes a husband's wounded pride. The caption reveals the joke: Mr. Tawker stayed out late, and his wife Peggy—concerned he'd been out in his business suit—asked why he wasn't dressed properly for evening. He interpreted her innocent question as criticism, taking excessive offense. The humor targets masculine oversensitivity: a man misreading casual domestic concern as nagging or insult, then sulking in response. The illustration shows the wife attempting to smooth things over while the husband sits wounded. This reflects 1880s gender dynamics where husbands expected deference, and wives had limited power except through indirect social pressure. The satire gently mocks men who weaponize emotional sensitivity to avoid accountability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XI. NEW YORK, APRIL 26, 1888. NUMBER 278. Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1888, by Mircumt. & Mitusr. 3 WS SS UK DP AS AEN HE WAS OVER SENSITIVE. ‘““How LATE MR. TAWKER STAYED!” “HE WOULD HAVE STAYED TILL NOW IF I HADN’r SENT HIM OFF.” “I HOPE YOU DID IT POLITELY, PEGGY.” “(OH, YES. HE WAS COMPLAINING OF HAVING TO BE AT THE BANK SO EARLY IN THE MORNING, AND I ONLY. LOOKED UP AT THE CLOCK AND SAID IN SURPRISE, ‘WHY! DO YOU GO TO BUSINESS IN YOUR DRESS SUIT ?’” comicbooks.com