The caption “Do I dare disturb the universe,” is a quotation from T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” published in 1920. The cartoon may also refer to “the overwhelming question” and the narrator’s desire to “wear white flannel trousers and to walk along the beach.”  Though Robert’s illustrations are small and quickly executed, they convey a lively engagement with ideas. The romantic couple in close proximity, but at odds with one another, is a theme often encountered in Robert’s more serious paintings.