Life — November 21, 1918 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 737 **The Cartoon:** The sketch depicts a domestic scene where a man and woman are in disagreement. The woman is seated while the man stands, gesturing argumentatively. A baby's crying is audible in the background. The caption reveals the joke: the man asks "That's either the baby or the cat crying. What shall I do?" The woman responds dismissively, suggesting he feed the cat if it's the cat, or let the baby cry since "science says that is best for him." **The Satire:** This mocks contemporary parenting advice from the early 20th century—likely referencing behaviorist theories that discouraged coddling babies. The humor lies in the woman's casual disregard for the baby's distress in favor of fashionable "scientific" child-rearing. It satirizes how uncritically people embraced modern parenting theories, even when they conflicted with maternal instinct.