Life — November 16, 1899 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Listless After-Dinner Custom" This satirical cartoon depicts a formal dinner scene where well-dressed men in tuxedos stand around a table with food and drinks. The caption references "listless after-dinner custom" and mentions "ladies listening to her father's friends during the next hour." The satire appears to target a Victorian-era social convention: after dinner, men would retire separately from women for drinks and conversation, leaving the ladies to entertain themselves elsewhere. The cartoon mocks this as "listless"—suggesting the enforced separation and tedious masculine socializing was dull and socially awkward. The men's expressions and body language convey boredom or disengagement, critiquing what Life magazine apparently viewed as an outdated, stilted social ritual that separated genders unnecessarily.