The Wasp — 1896 — page 671: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a beach bathing scene with four figures in Victorian-era swimwear. The caption presents a domestic comedy scenario: a woman reassures her female companion that the man she was seen with the previous evening is her husband, not someone else—addressing an implication of infidelity. The humor relies on period social anxieties about propriety and reputation. A woman being observed in public with an unknown man could generate scandal, requiring explanation. The woman's defensive reassurance ("he's my husband") suggests the observer harbored suspicions about improper conduct. The rest of the page consists primarily of period advertisements for local San Francisco businesses (tailors, hotels, cycling shops, shoe stores), typical of *The Wasp's* revenue model.