“You will puff her up with such ideas of her own beauty, and of what she has a claim to, that, in a little while, nobody within her reach will be good enough for her. Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief. Nothing so easy as for a young lady to raise her expectations too high. Miss Harriet Smith may not find offers of marriage flow in so fast, though she is a very pretty girl. Men of sense, whatever you may chuse to say, do not want silly wives.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 8. Mr. Knightley accuses Emma of inflating Harriet Smith’s ego and vanity and encouraging unrealistic expectations about her social position and a potential husband. He highlights the risks of relying on beauty and outward appearance alone, warning that despite being pretty Miss Smith have not have suitors queuing at her door. Sensible men value women of good sense and don’t want “silly wives,” he tells her.