The Wasp — 1893 — page 361: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon mocks a contemporary scandal involving Senator Fair. The illustration shows a well-dressed man confronting a seated woman, with accompanying verse joking that Fair, when interviewed, called his married companion "an old cat." The humor plays on the double meaning: the verse notes that "a cat has nine lives" and asks "has she?" — implying the woman has been through multiple relationships or scandals, like a cat's mythical nine lives. This references widespread gossip about the woman's romantic history. The cartoon satirizes both the scandal itself and Fair's crude attempt to dismiss her, exposing the hypocrisy and cattiness of high-society gossip that *The Wasp* specialized in lampooning.