The Wasp — 1895 — page 289: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents satirical commentary on Parisian entertainment venues, specifically the Folies Bergère music hall. The text criticizes the establishment's conduct, describing disorderly scenes with "attached women" and "striking and decolete" female performers whose behavior the author finds unseemly compared to American standards. The illustrations show figures in formal dress (top right: "In the Green-Room") observing the spectacles. The satire targets both the venue's management and its patrons, suggesting moral hypocrisy—that respectable people frequent places they publicly condemn. A separate short dramatic piece titled "A Regrettable Misunderstanding" depicts a confrontation between a white man and a "Redskin Chief," using period-typical racial caricature language reflecting the era's problematic attitudes toward Native Americans.