The Wasp — 1877 — page 353: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This nine-panel satirical sequence uses anthropomorphized figures playing a fiddle to demonstrate music's transformative power over a brutish man and his dog. **The narrative arc:** A violent, savage man is gradually civilized through exposure to music. Panels I-III show the initial "charming" effect on his aggressive nature. Panels IV-VI depict him becoming "replenished" and satisfied rather than violent. Panels VII-IX show complete transformation—the formerly brutal character becomes cultured, artistic, and refined, ultimately saved from self-destruction. **The satire:** This likely mocks 19th-century beliefs in art's "civilizing" power, suggesting that even the most brutish, uncivilized person could be reformed through cultural exposure—a somewhat optimistic (or ironically skeptical) view of music's social utility.