Puck — April 1877 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Puck cartoon satirizes a woman of contemporary social prominence, labeled "A Picture of 'Contemporary Human Interest'" at the location "5th Av. Th[eatre]." The image shows a fashionably dressed woman standing atop a man on all fours, literally dominating him. The phrase "As you like it" (visible on the right) references Shakespeare's play, suggesting theatrical or performative aspects of their relationship. The satire critiques the power dynamics of a fashionable society woman, depicting her as controlling and emasculating her male companion. This reflects Gilded Age anxieties about women's increasing social independence and influence in high society. The cartoon mocks both the woman's presumed arrogance and the man's willingness to be dominated, using physical exaggeration to ridicule contemporary gender relations among the wealthy elite.