The Wasp — 1893 — page 357: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a dialogue-based satirical piece titled "Fortune of War" featuring characters named Finette and a Reporter, apparently set in a recent hotel in Piccadilly, London. The satire mocks a woman (Finette) who has married an officer in the "ninety-something" regiment, then divorced him after he was posted abroad. The Reporter questions her about her subsequent romantic entanglements and financial circumstances. The humor targets her duplicitous behavior—claiming poverty while apparently living well, making questionable claims about lost fortunes, and displaying opportunistic romantic interests. The piece satirizes female social climbing, mercenary marriage practices, and inconsistent character among certain society women of the era. The cartoon on the right shows children doing gymnastics, apparently unrelated to the main satire.