Life, 1893-06-22 · page 1 of 14
Life — June 22, 1893 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Simplicity" - Life Magazine, June 22, 1893 This cartoon satirizes parental hypocrisy regarding daughters' upbringing and social behavior. The dialogue shows: **Old Friend** questions the **Fond Mother** about her daughter's strict upbringing. The mother claims ignorance of "what a man is," yet the **O.F.** (Old Friend) observes the daughter has already made a "mistake" with a divan—likely implying romantic impropriety or scandal. The joke exposes the contradiction: wealthy parents claim to raise daughters in sheltered innocence while those daughters demonstrably engage in worldly behavior. The ornate decorative border on the left (typical Life magazine styling) frames this critique of Gilded Age pretense about female propriety and class status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXI. NEW YORK, JUNE 22, 1893. NUMBER 547. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter, Copyright, 1893, by Mrrcnat. & Miter, preicany, iS g Sum. SIMPLICITY, Old Friend: YOU THINK YOU HAVE BROUGHT UP YOUR DAUGHTER VERY STRICTLY ? Fond Mother: OW, MY, YES! SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A MAN IS! O. F.: Tien I OUGHT To TELL HER THE NEXT TIME I SEE HER MISTAKE ONE FOR A DIVAN, OUGHTN'T 1? comicbooks.com