Two subtly mismatched porcelain cups and a loose pink ribbon on peach linen.

Original artwork, not a still

Emma • 1815

Jane Austen

Good-humoured, unaffected girls, will not do for a man who has been used to sensible women. They are two distinct orders of being.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Cheerful, easygoing girls won't satisfy a man used to thoughtful women, she says. She treats the two types as different kinds of people altogether. It's a dry observation about compatibility, with a hint of amusement at how sharply expectations divide.

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