The Wasp — 1896 — page 619: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains **"The Old Maid's Diary,"** a satirical narrative about working-class San Francisco women. The text mocks how poor women struggle financially, forced to take in boarders and do laundry for subsistence. The satire criticizes their husbands for not providing adequately, suggesting wives resort to "dough" (slang for money obtained through questionable means) from lodgers. The accompanying sketches illustrate fashionable women and domestic scenes, sardonically contrasting their pretensions with their actual poverty. The page also features a portrait of **Peter T. Dunne**, identified as "a talented young lawyer," and advertisements for patent medicines. The overall message critiques class disparities and women's economic vulnerability in turn-of-the-century San Francisco.