“There goes my wife!! Oh, the wretch, while I'm having a shave she's making a cuckold of me!,” plate 22 from Moeurs Conjugales 1840

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph, plate 22 from “Moeurs Conjugales,” in 19th century France, a period defined by distinct social expectations around marriage. Through caricature, Daumier presents a scene of bourgeois domestic life, tinged with suspicion and infidelity. The humor derives from the contrast between the husband's disheveled appearance, caught mid-shave, and his wife's elegant departure with another man. Daumier uses stark lines and exaggerated features to critique the perceived hypocrisies of married life. His prints often appeared in journals like “Le Charivari,” which was subject to censorship. By examining these publications and the social mores of the time, we understand how Daumier's work challenged the idealized image of marriage promoted by the French bourgeoisie. The historian’s role is to examine how art like this reflects broader social anxieties and power dynamics of its time.