Life — September 1, 1898 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This French satirical cartoon from *Life* depicts two caricatured figures labeled as participants in the Dreyfus Affair controversy. The title references "The Actors of the Great Dreyfusian Comedy," mocking the affair as theatrical performance. The figure on the left, identified as "Labori" (likely Dreyfus's lawyer Maître Labori), is drawn as bombastic and gesticulating wildly. The right figure appears to be "Leblois," characterized as gentle/mild ("doux"). The repeated word "CONCLUSIONS" scattered throughout suggests the satire targets the endless legal proceedings and rhetorical arguments dominating French public discourse during the Dreyfus case. The cartoon ridicules both the affair's principal actors and the public obsession with its dramatic legal theater, presenting them as overwrought performers rather than serious participants in justice.