The Wasp — 1888 — page 275: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts two figures in a comedic scenario labeled "We Never Get Excited." The illustration shows what appears to be a well-dressed man and woman in a somewhat undignified physical situation—the woman appears to be falling or tumbling while the man gestures dramatically. The accompanying verse plays on the phrase "We never get excited" through a series of increasingly chaotic situations: stepping on a frog, tumbling down stairs, getting trodden on by a guest. The humor derives from the obvious contradiction between the stated claim of never getting excited and the depicted mayhem. This appears to be typical satirical humor of the era—poking fun at Victorian-era pretensions of composure and decorum by showing how mundane domestic mishaps provoke undignified reactions.