The Wasp — 1895 — page 96: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes wealthy heirs and the threat of inheritance forfeiture. Two men in a field of dollar signs and coins look upward anxiously at winged female figures labeled "HEIR," controlled by a man in a top hat on the left (likely representing a creditor or the government). The women are being manipulated like puppets or wasps, suggesting the precarious nature of inherited wealth. The satire criticizes how the wealthy face potential loss of their fortunes through legal or financial means. The "HEIR" labels suggest the cartoon mocks the anxiety of privileged heirs concerned about losing unearned wealth. The imagery implies that inheritance itself is being treated as something uncertain or subject to external forces beyond the heirs' control.