Life, 1894-05-17 · page 8 of 18
Life — May 17, 1894 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "She Was Wise" - Women's Suffrage Satire This Life magazine page satirizes the women's suffrage debate through a fictional dialogue with "Mrs. Susan B. Anthony" (the famous suffragist). The cartoon depicts a woman rejecting marriage to accumulate savings, prompting a discussion about voting rights. The text exchanges mock suffragists' arguments: a male interlocutor challenges whether women deserve political equality, suggesting they lack the capacity. He sarcastically proposes adding a disclaimer to constitutional amendments excluding the word "male"—implying that granting women voting rights is absurd. The satire ridicules both suffragists and anti-suffrage opponents, using humor to delegitimize women's equality claims. The "wise" woman's financial independence through refusing marriage is positioned as foolish rather than rational self-determination.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SHE WAS WISE. “11'S PRETTY HARD ON ME, WH “Yes, I Know; BUT I COULD Ne’ BY NOT GIVING YOU ANY PRESENTS FOR A YEAR, I HAVE SAVED UP ENOUGH TO MARRY ON,” ER BE HAPPY WITH SUCH A MAN, 66 AH, yes—Mrs. Susan B. Anthony, What can LIFE do for you.” “We wish to know where you stand on the Woman's Suffrage question.” “With the ladies every time—and do not let it escape your memory.” “Which ladies ? antis?” “Ab, madam, why do you thus embarrass a young, unmarried male person like Lire? We are thinking how happy we could be with either fair charmers, were other fair charmers away. Do you mind if we hum a few bars of * Susan Make Room for your Anti.’” * Please don’t try to be funny, but tell us frankly whether you do or do not think that the word ‘ male’ should be chopped out of the Constitution of the State of New York?” “No, we don't. We have a very distinct idea of what class of women would do most of the voting. We should Are you with us or with those horrid not object though to the insertion after the word ‘ male’ of the words ‘ and every female citizen who can read and write English.’” “Why would you impose any restriction on women that you would not on men?" “We wouldn't. Nothing would please us more than to see the same qualification added to the word ‘ male.” We would in every case bar ignorance from the ballot. But do you mind answering a question or two?" “ Certainly not.” “ LIFE understands that the mainstay of this movement is the claim that women have made such advances in know- ledge and the ability to take care of themselves, that they are entitled to every privilege pos “That is true.” “Have you ever noticed how much of the time of our courts is taken up in protecting women in privileges which men either do not possess or are too manly to claim.” “I don’t understand what you mean.” “ Don’t you think, to put it another way, that your claim would be better established if you added to your prop- osition eliding the word ‘male,’ a rider providing that from the date of the amendment the Courts of this State should comicbooks.com