Life — November 18, 1926 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "After the Cave-in" This cartoon satirizes a domestic dispute over household finances. A dentist presents his bill to his wife, who appears upset. The caption reads: "AND CAN YOU IMAGINE IT? LITTLE FIFI, HERE, TRYING TO BITE ME JUST BECAUSE I FORGOT TO PUT THE SALTS IN HER BATH." The humor relies on the wife's apparent spending on luxury items (implied by "salts") for a pet dog ("Fifi") while the household struggles financially—suggested by the dentist's concern over his unpaid bill. The cartoon mocks upper-class domestic tensions: husbands resenting wives' extravagant pet care while marital finances suffer. The "cave-in" title suggests financial collapse or domestic breakdown resulting from such frivolous spending priorities.