The Wasp — 1895 — page 746: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains humorous social commentary typical of satirical magazines. The "Novelette Notes" section mocks melodramatic heroine tropes—particularly the "chameleon-girl" character whose hair changes color with circumstance, and complaints about six-foot heroes. The satire targets overwrought Victorian serial fiction conventions. "Converts of the Wheel" features a photograph of someone on a bicycle, satirizing the cycling craze among the upper classes, particularly women adopting the sport against social expectations. Lower sections include conversational humor about social pretension ("Anglomania"), domestic disputes, and a fable about Little Red Riding Hood reimagined as a "New Woman" experimenting with cake-making—mocking both new feminist aspirations and traditional femininity. The overall tone ridicules class affectations and changing social mores of the period.