Life — February 24, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Re-Adjustment" - Life Magazine, February 24, 1898 This cartoon satirizes marital discord through domestic conflict. The illustration shows a well-dressed man confronting a woman in their home, with the caption quoting his accusation: "But, Fred, are you really running behind so much?" Her response reveals financial anxiety: "Well, I kept my clothes in the drawer of my desk, and by unpaid bills in the wardrobe." The joke critiques late-19th-century domestic economics—specifically, the irony that a wife economizes by storing clothing modestly while accumulating unpaid debts hidden in the wardrobe. It satirizes both marital tension over spending and the financial pressures households faced during this era. The "re-adjustment" refers to the couple attempting to reconcile their economic conflicts.