The Wasp — 1878 — page 157: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains the beginning of a serialized short story rather than political cartoons. The narrative follows Ada, a young woman whose family has fallen into financial difficulties. The story satirizes Victorian social anxieties: a gentleman caller attempts courtship motivated by her family's former wealth; her parents scheme to marry her advantageously despite reduced circumstances; and Ada herself navigates romantic interest while aware of her family's precarious social position. The satire targets the era's mercenary marriage market and class anxieties—the tension between maintaining social respectability and economic reality. Characters discuss money, property, and advantageous matches with barely concealed self-interest, reflecting contemporary critiques of how Victorian society commodified women and marriage.