Life — July 15, 1915 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes married life and divorce through a domestic scene. A woman sits conversing with what appears to be a friend or confidante, expressing cynicism about marriage's happiness. When asked why she doesn't divorce her unhappy husband, she responds that she'd rather endure quarrels with him than deal with strangers—likely referring to the legal complexities, social judgment, or practical difficulties of divorce proceedings. The joke critiques both marriage's disappointments and the era's divorce process as potentially more unpleasant than staying in an unhappy union. It reflects early-20th-century attitudes where divorce, though increasingly available, remained socially stigmatized and legally cumbersome, making many women choose marital discontent over the alternative.