Life — February 4, 1897 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine, February 4, 1897 **The Cartoon: "Not His Fault"** This illustration satirizes a collision between a cyclist and an equestrian rider. The caption reads: "Pardon me, Madame, but is one of the persons a man?" "They are both women." "Oh, Venus! Another arrow wasted!" The joke references the late-19th-century "bicycle craze" and emerging "New Woman" phenomenon—women increasingly riding bicycles and adopting more independent lifestyles. The cartoon mocks this social shift by depicting two women colliding, with the male rider lamenting that his romantic "arrow" (Cupid's arrow, implying flirtation) was "wasted" on women rather than a potential female conquest. The satire reflects contemporary anxieties about changing gender roles and women's autonomy during this period.