The Wasp — 1896 — page 168: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and directory content** for San Francisco establishments (hotels, restaurants, saloons, lawyers, dentists). The main illustration, titled "A MODEST ALTERNATIVE," depicts a conversation between what appears to be a **husband and wife**. The woman expresses shame about a French actress's scandalous behavior; the husband responds that if she hadn't blushed, "it would have shown more judgment than." The joke satirizes **Victorian-era propriety and hypocrisy**—suggesting that a woman's embarrassment about immorality is itself foolish, since discretion would be wiser. The cartoon mocks both female prudishness and the era's contradictory moral standards regarding sexuality and public behavior. It's social satire targeting middle-class attitudes rather than political commentary. The rest of the page consists entirely of **business advertisements** with no additional satirical content.