The Wasp — 1894 — page 534: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertisements for San Francisco theaters** (Tivoli Opera House, Stockwell's Theatre, Morosco's Grand Opera House, etc.) with one central cartoon. The cartoon titled **"Her First Opera"** depicts a woman's chaotic introduction to opera. The illustration shows an elegantly dressed woman on stage performing dramatically while aristocratic audience members react with shock and confusion below. The caption quotes dialogue suggesting the woman is "screaming" and "beating" inappropriately for operatic performance. The satire appears to mock **nouveau riche or socially awkward attendees** unfamiliar with opera's conventions—a common theme in Gilded Age humor. The joke targets someone of lower social standing attempting high culture without proper etiquette or understanding, resulting in an embarrassing spectacle. This reflects period anxieties about class mobility and cultural pretension in San Francisco's growing upper classes.