Life — February 21, 1901 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Widow and Her Friends" This illustration depicts a woman in Edwardian-era dress standing in a bedroom beside multiple beds. The caption indicates this relates to "A Widow and Her Friends" with subtitle text mentioning "She Becomes a Trained Nurse." The satire appears to target the profession of nursing or perhaps women's roles during this period. The widow, dressed formally with an apron, stands among numerous beds—likely a commentary on either the demands of nursing work or possibly a critique of women entering the profession. The cartoon likely satirizes either the challenges nurses faced, the social awkwardness of the transition, or public attitudes about respectable widows taking employment as trained nurses—a relatively new profession for women at the time. The copyright shows "1901, by Life Publishing Co."