The Wasp — 1921 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This appears to be a dramatic dialogue between MEL (likely a female character, given "She shivers" and "She laughs") and GEN. (a General). The scene depicts discussion of a recent uprising or revolution where: - Initial fear gave way to bold declarations of freedom by "socialist element" - Soldiers sided with peasants, resulting in violence - A lieutenant was killed trying to maintain order The General dismisses the rebels as "beasts," but Mel counters that they're simply acting on what they've been taught—implying the ruling class created this situation. Her bitter laugh and invocation of "Holy Russia" suggests this satirizes Russian political upheaval, likely the 1917 revolution or earlier unrest. The satire critiques both revolutionary violence and the government's failure to take responsibility for provoking it.