Life, 1898-03-17 · page 1 of 20
Life — March 17, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "One Exception" - Life Magazine, March 17, 1898 This single-panel cartoon satirizes marriage and aging. Two figures sit together—a woman on the left appears anxious or concerned, while a man on the right reads or examines something (possibly a marriage proposal or document). The caption reads: "I FEEL IT IN ALL MY BONES THAT I AM GOING TO BE AN OLD MAID." The man's response: "NOT IN YOUR WISHBONE." The joke plays on the woman's worry about remaining unmarried. The man offers reassurance, suggesting her "wishbone" (symbol of luck and hope) represents an exception to her grim prediction. This reflects late-Victorian anxieties about unmarried women and the social pressure surrounding marriage, while the man's comment attempts gallant but slightly condescending comfort.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXxXI. NEW YORK, MARCH 17, 1898. NUMBER 796. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter, Copyright, 1898, by Mircuent & Mitten, wave iN ap RICAN | ge Sym. anid 2 fornia Route. ONE EXCEPTION. TIN ALL MY BONES THAT 1 AM GOING TO BE AN OLD MAID.” NOT IN YOUR WISHBONE.” comicbooks.com