Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Subjects:

Meteorology, Gender, Observation, Domestic Economy

    Following the scientific study of 'storms in general', proposes investigating 'the theory and causes of domestic storms', with a thinly-veiled comparison of wives to storms. The author reports having kept a log of the behaviour of 'her condition' under various weather conditions and makes several observations including the prevalence of storms 'about Christmas time', the protection from the storm offered by 'a bank', and the fact that storms sometimes begin 'with trifling airs, but these often increase suddenly to a squall of the most alarming character'. Likening husbands to mariners and wives to wayward sea-vessels, suggests methods for dealing with 'domestic storms' including 'taking [a vessel] out of her stays' and 'cutting her rigging'. The illustration shows a woman's head in a storm cloud and a man being blown away by the wind emerging from her mouth.