The Wasp — 1895 — page 703: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes gossip and rumor-spreading among women. Two women are shown sewing or doing needlework together—Clara and Cora, based on the dialogue. Clara reports that she heard Mr. Higgins was forbidden from calling on Cora. Cora denies this, clarifying that the previous night's incident concerned him turning down a lamp, not being turned away from her parlor. The satire targets the tendency of women to misinterpret or exaggerate social information, spreading false reports through their social circles. The intimate domestic setting (sewing, curtained windows) emphasizes how rumors originate in private female spaces and get distorted as they circulate—a common theme in period satirical commentary on women's sociability and gossip.