Life — October 16, 1902 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Simple Solution" — Life Magazine Cartoon This 1901 cartoon satirizes a domestic disagreement about winter clothing costs. The man proposes a practical solution: move to Florida for spring to avoid purchasing expensive new winter coats. The humor relies on the impracticality of the suggestion—relocating an entire household merely to save on seasonal clothing is absurdly wasteful, despite the man's confident tone ("Yes, I, too, like white over, but great Caesar!"). The cartoon reflects early 20th-century middle-class anxieties about household expenses and gender dynamics around clothing purchases. The woman's skeptical demeanor suggests she recognizes the logical flaw in his "solution." The satire targets husbands' tendency toward implausible financial reasoning when faced with their wives' reasonable domestic needs.