The Wasp — 1894 — page 435: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts two gentlemen in Victorian dress observing three young boys playing. The caption reads "NOT IN THE GAME" with dialogue beneath: **GENTLEMAN 1**: "What's the matter, little boy?" **LITTLE TOMMY**: "Mean' sister was playin' keep-house an' I was pa an' she was the cook. She told me to kiss her and when I did she slapped me. Don't know that was in the game." **GENTLEMAN 2**: "Neither did I." The satire mocks the naiveté of young boys regarding courtship and romantic behavior. The joke turns on the boy's confusion about physical affection—he doesn't understand why a kiss invited retaliation. The gentlemen's shared knowing glance suggests cynical amusement at this lesson in how women (even children playing house) rebuff male advances.