The Wasp — 1880 — page 298: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a three-panel satirical cartoon captioned "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" (a Shakespeare paraphrase). The cartoon mocks social climbers and newly wealthy individuals. The panels appear to show: - **Left**: A woman bathing an infant in a barrel - **Center**: A portly man in formal dress with top hat, displaying newfound wealth - **Right**: A woman in fine clothes with a child The surrounding text criticizes lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who accumulate sudden wealth and adopt pretentious airs. The satire targets the pretension of the newly rich who acquire status symbols without genuine refinement—a common Victorian-era theme mocking social aspiration and class mobility.