Life — October 7, 1915 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon titled "As It Seems When Wifie Takes the Wheel," depicting a bird's-eye view of a chaotic street scene during the early automobile era. The cartoon shows multiple cars in disarray—some crashed, overturned, or careening wildly—with pedestrians scattering in panic on the sidewalks. The satire targets women drivers, a contemporary social anxiety of the early 20th century. The joke implies that when a wife assumes driving responsibility, the result is automotive mayhem and danger. This reflects period attitudes questioning women's competence behind the wheel, before women's driving became normalized. The exaggerated chaos serves as visual commentary on gender anxieties during this transitional era of transportation technology.