The Wasp — 1893 — page 402: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page features an illustration titled "They Stayed Away" subtitled "(A Sidelight on the Small Attendance at the Opening Society Event.)" The image depicts two elegantly dressed women in an interior setting. One stands near a window with flowers; the other sits. The caption quotes dialogue: "I did not see you at the Charity Ball this week" and a response beginning "Oh no, Charity begins at home you know..." The satire appears to target social hypocrisy among San Francisco's upper class. The joke plays on the phrase "charity begins at home"—suggesting these society women use charitable excuses to avoid attending events while staying home instead. The small attendance at what should be a prestigious charity ball is mocked as indicative of shallow social commitment masked by convenient rationalizations.