The Wasp — 1877 — page 201: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains three satirical comic strips commenting on social incompetence and gender relations: **Top panel**: A farmer complains that his newly hired man cannot control two horses while plowing—despite claiming he could "hold the plow." The joke mocks inexperienced workers making false claims about their abilities. **Bottom left**: A U.S. officer and private discuss marching discipline, with the private admitting he can't keep step because "the other fellows get me mixed up"—satirizing military incompetence. **Bottom right**: A husband criticizes his wife Rebecka's clothing choices. She responds that she dresses to worry women, not please men—a jab at female vanity and marital discord. All three strips target common Victorian-era social anxieties: worker reliability, military readiness, and proper gender roles. The humor relies on characters' self-aware admissions of failure.