The Wasp — 1896 — page 542: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical illustration mocks Mrs. Pacificroights (a caricatured woman suffragist) who has traveled to a deserted city to spend the Fourth of July. The caption shows her complaining that the lack of fireworks and celebratory noise makes the holiday unbearable—ironically, she's criticizing the very "silence" she and other suffragettes claim to want at their convention. The joke appears to be anti-suffrage satire: the cartoonist ridicules women's rights advocates by suggesting they're hypocritical—demanding quiet for their meetings while simultaneously missing the noise and spectacle of traditional Independence Day celebrations. The elaborate dress and somewhat exaggerated features suggest mockery of the woman's pretensions or vanity.