Life — February 12, 1903 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon by Ketten satirizes conditions in New York City's subway system by comparing it to Dante's Inferno—the medieval poet's depiction of Hell. The crowded, chaotic underground scene filled with packed bodies becomes a humorous visual metaphor for the misery of commuting. The caption's joke deflates the grandiose comparison: it's "not exactly" Dante's Hell, but rather just "anywhere in New York along the line of the subway." This suggests that everyday subway conditions were so unpleasant—overcrowded, uncomfortable, hellish—that they rivaled literary descriptions of the underworld. The humor relies on relatable frustration with urban transit rather than requiring knowledge of specific political figures or events.