Life — March 19, 1908 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Temperance Reflection" This cartoon satirizes the temperance movement's hypocrisy regarding gender and social rules. The illustration shows a man at a window labeled "DRINK!" — suggesting he frequents bars despite temperance advocacy. The accompanying dialogue presents Socrates debating whether women should play Bridge (a card game). The satire argues that temperance advocates claim virtue requires women to avoid Bridge entirely, yet these same men frequent drinking establishments without similar restrictions. The caption quote — "the dark shadow of the bottle is everywhere in our beloved land" — mocks temperance rhetoric while the cartoon exposes the double standard: men lecture women about moral discipline while exempting themselves from equivalent restraint. The satire criticizes both temperance extremism and gender hypocrisy.