Life, 1889-11-07 · page 1 of 16
Life — November 7, 1889 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Sagacious Maiden" - Life Magazine, November 7, 1889 This cartoon satirizes women's financial reasoning in marriage. The dialogue shows a woman (labeled "Mother Eve") defending her choice to marry a gardener despite his lack of capital, arguing he had a "good salary." Her companion points out the flaw in this logic: the gardener's first action was to "lose his situation"—lose his job. The satire mocks the stereotype of women making foolish marital decisions based on insufficient financial consideration. The title "Sagacious Maiden" is ironic, suggesting the woman considers herself wise when she's actually demonstrated poor judgment. The cartoon reflects late 19th-century anxieties about women's economic vulnerability and decision-making capacity regarding marriage.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
res selle dies J dies orts, -orts | tries ries | hino VOLUME XIV. NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 7, 1889. NUMBER 358. Estered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 188, by Mircwmnt & Miia. THE SAGACIOUS MAIDEN. He; 1 DON'T SEE WHY YOU WON'T MARRY A MAN WITHOUT CAPITAL IF HE HAS A GOOD SALARY, MOTHER EVE MARRIED A GARDENER, She; YES, AND THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TO LOSE HIS SITUATION! comicbooks.com