The Wasp — 1895 — page 1081: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The illustrated poem on the left criticizes "modern despots" — likely wealthy employers who mistreat domestic servants. The figure shown appears to be an imperious employer or "matron" (as labeled) complaining about servant girls' demands and behavior. The satire targets the tension between employers expecting total obedience and servants increasingly asserting rights — seeking better wages, shorter hours, and dignity. The poem mocks employers' frustrations with "servant girls" who won't simply obey, instead wanting "the earth for wages" and refusing to suffer quietly. This reflects late-19th-century labor anxieties: as working conditions improved and workers organized, employers resented losing absolute control. *The Wasp* satirizes this clash by presenting the employers' complaints as petulant and unreasonable.