"Good-humoured, unaffected girls, will not do for a man who has been used to sensible women. They are two distinct orders of being"
About this Quote
Austen slips a blade into a teacup here: the line sounds like a simple preference, but it’s really a critique of how men categorize women when they want to feel discerning. “Good-humoured” and “unaffected” are virtues in the marriage market, yet they’re dismissed as not “doing” for a man who fancies himself seasoned. The phrasing turns women into consumer goods - suitable or unsuitable “for” a man - and then ups the cruelty by declaring “two distinct orders of being,” as if temperament is biology and social training is destiny.
The subtext is Austen’s favorite kind of exposure: the male speaker isn’t praising “sensible women” so much as advertising his own sophistication. Being “used to” them implies experience, taste, entitlement. It also implies that “unaffected girls” are for beginners - ornamental, pleasant, safely unthreatening - while “sensible women” belong to a different class of companionship: they can argue back, read motives, refuse the script. Austen knows that “sense” in her world is not just intelligence; it’s survival skill in a system where women must be strategic because they’re economically trapped.
Contextually, the line fits Austen’s broader project: puncturing the romance plot’s shallow casting. She’s writing in an era that fetishized feminine “naturalness” while policing women into performing it. Calling these “orders of being” is the joke and the indictment - the categories are socially manufactured, but men treat them as eternal law. Austen lets the snobbery speak plainly, trusting the reader to hear the moral ugliness underneath the polished manners.
The subtext is Austen’s favorite kind of exposure: the male speaker isn’t praising “sensible women” so much as advertising his own sophistication. Being “used to” them implies experience, taste, entitlement. It also implies that “unaffected girls” are for beginners - ornamental, pleasant, safely unthreatening - while “sensible women” belong to a different class of companionship: they can argue back, read motives, refuse the script. Austen knows that “sense” in her world is not just intelligence; it’s survival skill in a system where women must be strategic because they’re economically trapped.
Contextually, the line fits Austen’s broader project: puncturing the romance plot’s shallow casting. She’s writing in an era that fetishized feminine “naturalness” while policing women into performing it. Calling these “orders of being” is the joke and the indictment - the categories are socially manufactured, but men treat them as eternal law. Austen lets the snobbery speak plainly, trusting the reader to hear the moral ugliness underneath the polished manners.
Quote Details
| Topic | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Source | Emma (1816) — contains the line: "Good-humoured, unaffected girls, will not do for a man who has been used to sensible women; they are two distinct orders of beings." |
More Quotes by Jane
Add to List
