The Wasp — 1895 — page 157: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is predominantly **advertising** for San Francisco businesses (banks, lawyers, insurance companies, liquor dealers, laundries). The main cartoon titled **"A Dream"** depicts two women in conversation on a sofa. The dialogue suggests a romantic scenario where one woman asks the other about a man: "Does he smoke?" "asked one girl. / "Does he drink?" replied the other. / "Drink?" / "Certainly not." / "Use profanity?" / "No." / "Well, I almost hate to see you marry him." / "Why?" / "He seems too good to be true." **The satire**: This jokes about marital expectations and gender roles—suggesting that women actually *expect* men to have vices like smoking and drinking, and find a "perfect" man suspiciously unbelievable. It's gentle social commentary on courtship ideals versus reality.