Life — November 30, 1893 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine, November 30, 1893 This page features a single cartoon titled "Very Likely" depicting a social scene. Two well-dressed figures in a carriage or sleigh are conversing, with the dialogue reading: "I should like to have a chance to jilt him" and "I know you would. You'd accept him." The cartoon satirizes courtship and marriage customs of the 1890s, specifically mocking the social dynamics where women of means might accept marriage proposals not from genuine affection but from social obligation or financial consideration. The "jilt" reference suggests the woman would reject the suitor after accepting him—a scandal in that era. The satire targets both the superficiality of matrimonial arrangements and the power dynamics between wealthy suitors and women using marriage strategically. It's a commentary on Gilded Age courtship practices among the upper classes.