The new governess
1900-1905
Charles Dana Gibson's 1901 illustration pokes fun at Victorian courtship with a scene of chaotic domesticity. The caption reveals the punchline: 'Uncle Tom' has suddenly started spending all his time in the nursery ever since the new governess arrived. While energetic children pull at his coat and wave his top hat around, the man seems far more interested in the stern, book-holding woman standing to the side. Gibson, famous for defining the ideal American woman of the era (the 'Gibson Girl'), uses this humorous moment to show how love can make a grown man act like a child—or at least hang around children to get close to the woman he likes.
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