The Wasp — 1889 — page 29: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon from *The Wasp* depicts two elegant women quarreling over a garland of flowers while a small boy (likely representing a scandal or public controversy) sits between them holding a rifle, appearing to mediate. The title and Wasp's caption—"Don't quarrel over it, ladies. It is an even thing. Let us toss"—suggests the cartoon satirizes prominent women engaged in a public dispute over some social scandal. The "crown of scandal" is the garland being contested. Without identifying the specific women or incident, the cartoon mocks how society's elite women become embroiled in petty quarrels over reputational matters while treating serious issues (represented by the armed boy) as mere entertainment or trivial wagers.