The Wasp — 1879 — page 80: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical burlesque play script mocking Victorian racial attitudes. The title uses "Hottentots" (a dehumanizing term for the Khoikhoi people of southern Africa) to create absurdist comedy from racist stereotypes. The plot involves a Danish slave ship on the African coast, with characters including "Black Hottentots" and "White Hottentots" (owners). The dialogue satirizes Victorian pretension—Mrs. Owner lectures the Captain about comfort and puns while discussing slavery and trade, mixing absurd wordplay with serious colonial exploitation. The burlesque format—over-the-top characters and ridiculous situations—was contemporary satire targeting Victorian hypocrisy about slavery and imperialism. The humor relies on audience familiarity with racist caricatures while ostensibly mocking Victorian society's moral contradictions regarding colonial commerce.