I think this cartoon has widely misinterpreted. I feel that it is gently poking fun at the suffrage movement but isn't opposing it. I think it's just humour from a male point of view. If you look at the cartoonists other works regarding women's suffrage it could be said that he supported the cause. As I've seen elsewhere this cartoon being misinterpreted in the national curriculum I'd like a wider debate about it. From family history research I know that his uncles wife and two of her sisters supported the campaign and signed both the 1892 and 1893 petitions and one of them lived with the well known suffragette Harriet Morisson. I think this is purely humour and not opposing the women's vote.
I have been looking into my family history and I found out something quite amusing. William Blomfield's uncle was the famous New Zealand artist Charles Blomfield. Charles's wife Ellen Blomfield (nee Wild) signed both the 1892 and 1893 petitions for women's suffrage as did two of her sisters Catherine Graham (nee Wild) and Lily Wild. Lily lived with the Suffragist Harriet Morison and stayed with her until her death. One of William Blomfield's cartoons depicts Harriet Morison as some sort of female St George. Did he know she was living with his aunts sister and that his aunt was a supporter of the movement?
Isn't this a cartoon for women's suffrage?
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