Puck — October 15, 1879 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical page critiques excessive funeral expenses, particularly their impact on widows. The top panels show a widow being propositioned by an undertaker offering increasingly expensive casket options ("a rose-wood casket and a four-horse, with plumes!"), while she counters that she needs only five dollars, "the only thing worn in a case of real grief." The lower section, titled "Leave Me Alone With My Dead!," depicts mourners at a funeral arguing over costs while the widow grieves, with dialogue about paying for the widow's support. The final panel shows "the bitter result"—a widow begging in the street. The cartoon satirizes how funeral industry practices exploit grieving families financially, leaving widows impoverished. It advocates for simpler, more affordable funerals.