The Wasp — 1894 — page 248: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and directory listings** for San Francisco hotels, restaurants, and businesses (circa late 1800s), interspersed with a large central illustration. The cartoon depicts a **rotund, well-fed man in formal dress** reclining contentedly, labeled "ENOUGH TO SUPPORT." Below appears a verse mocking someone's marriage aspirations—a woman asks a man to marry her, he refuses because he "couldn't afford it," yet she notes he clearly has means to support himself lavishly. The satire targets **hypocrisy about wealth and marriage prospects**: a man claims poverty to avoid matrimony while visibly enjoying comfort and excess. This reflects common Victorian-era anxieties about men's financial excuses regarding marriage, portrayed here with gentle ridicule through the contrast between his protestations and his obvious prosperity.