The Wasp — 1893 — page 315: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical comic depicts a woman in elegant black attire repeatedly encountering three men in suits and top hats on San Francisco's Kearny Street. The narrative progresses from "Ah there!" (the men spotting her) to "Stay there!" (suggesting she should remain in one location). The joke appears to be a melodramatic commentary on street harassment or the attention a well-dressed woman attracts on a busy urban street. The repetitive panels mock both the woman's inability to escape notice and the men's persistent attempts to engage with her. The title's reference to a "melo-drama" suggests The Wasp is satirizing the theatrical nature of street encounters and social interactions in San Francisco's busy commercial district during this era.