The Wasp — 1894 — page 352: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes marital discord through a domestic scene. A well-dressed man and woman appear to be arguing or in tense conversation. The caption "NOT HALF-SPEED" suggests the joke concerns a wife's complaint about her husband's performance or effort—likely a reference to insufficient lovemaking, given the euphemistic language typical of early 20th-century satire. The dialogue mentions a wife speaking "rather hastily" to her husband, and her claim she can do "two hundred and seventy-five" words when excited. This wordplay satirizes both marital dissatisfaction and the husband's apparent inadequacy. The page is primarily advertisements for local San Francisco businesses, with this single cartoon serving as the magazine's editorial content.