Life — June 11, 1891 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Getting Even" — Life Magazine, June 11, 1891 This cartoon depicts a domestic dispute centered on infidelity or neglect. A woman confronts a man at a table while reading a newspaper, her body language accusatory. The dialogue reveals the conflict: **"He is not a beau of yours, is he?"** **"Yes."** **"He calls on me oftener than on you."** **"Yes; I told him the days you were not at home."** The satire mocks marital revenge tactics—specifically, the husband deliberately encouraging a suitor to visit while the wife is absent, seemingly to make her jealous or punish her perceived coldness. The title "Getting Even" suggests tit-for-tat retaliation within marriage. This reflects late-Victorian anxieties about gender relations and domestic power struggles, presented here as darkly comic.