The Wasp — 1891 — page 611: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertisements and literary content** rather than political satire. The main cartoon at top left shows three figures in what appears to be a domestic scene, illustrating Milton's quote: "They also serve who only stand and wait." Below that is **"The Sweet Girl Graduate"** — a two-scene dramatic piece mocking a young woman's pretensions. Scene I satirizes her vanity at the dressmaker's, obsessing over hemlines and fashions. Scene II presents her delivering sanctimonious poetry about ignoring material concerns and entering "a higher field." The satire targets **female graduates' perceived hypocrisy**: they claim indifference to worldly matters while actually being preoccupied with dress and appearance. This reflects late 19th/early 20th-century anxieties about educated women's social roles. The remainder is **period advertisements** for pianos, sewing machines, medical treatments, and beer.