Life, 1902-08-07 · page 1 of 22
Life — August 7, 1902 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine, August 7, 1902 This satirical cartoon depicts a wealthy woman confronted by her husband about dishonesty. The caption reads: "No, test can't; but I shall have to pay a lawyer all I have stolen to convince them that they can't." The image shows a darkly-shaded domestic scene with what appears to be an affluent couple in dispute. The satire targets wealthy women's financial autonomy and the legal vulnerabilities of marriage during the Gilded Age. The joke suggests that even if a wife's financial misconduct could be proven, the cost of legal defense would consume her ill-gotten gains anyway—satirizing both marital power dynamics and the expensive legal system available primarily to the wealthy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XL. NEW YORK, AUGUST 7, 1902. NUMBER 1082. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. i SL, 19 Copyright, 1901, by Lire PUBLISHING CoMPaxT. Hs Wife: at can THEY PROVE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DISHONEST? “NO, THEY CAN'T} BUT I SMALL WAVE TO PAY A LAWYER ALL I HAVE STOLEN TO CONVINCE THEM THAT THRY CAN'T.” comicbooks.com