The Wasp — 1887 — page 222: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This illustration depicts a woman in Victorian dress viewing what appears to be a theatrical tent performance or peep show. The caption suggests ironic commentary on private entertainment or voyeurism. The accompanying text discusses various social topics including religious revivals, tent meetings, and camp gatherings. References to "Ocean Grove" (a Methodist camp meeting site in New Jersey) and descriptions of tabernacle gatherings suggest satire of evangelical revival culture popular in late 19th-century America. The piece appears to mock both the spectacle of revival meetings and the audiences who attended them, portraying such religious gatherings as theatrical entertainment rather than genuine spiritual experiences. The isolated "audience of one" may mock the personal nature of religious conversion claims.