The Wasp — 1891 — page 109: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page features a poem titled "A Woman's Hate" centered among advertisements. The accompanying illustration shows a woman confronting her unfaithful lover, depicted in period dress. The poem satirizes romantic drama: a woman discovers her lover's infidelity and confronts him with anger and wounded pride. She threatens him ("I hate you"), taps her foot on the carpet in fury, and ultimately delivers a cutting final line: "You know I hate you" — suggesting her hatred masks lingering attachment. The satire targets the melodramatic emotional performances of both romantic partners. The man's sudden realization and the woman's performative anger are presented as predictable theater. The poem mocks this conventional romantic conflict as a puzzle "to which no key you'll find" — suggesting such emotional disputes are ultimately irresolvable and perhaps absurd.