" 'Yes,' responded Abbot, 'if she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that.'...'Yes, I doat on Miss Georgiana!' cried the fervent Abbot. 'Little darling! – with her long curls and her blue eyes, and such a sweet colour as she has; just as if she were painted!' " (25).
Jane, age ten, is in the fearsome "red room" for punishment and the Reed's servants, Bessie and Abbot, are looking in at her. Jane is not a pretty girl by physical appearance standards while her cousin Georgiana is. In the culture of the mid nineteenth century Great Britain, appearance was vital to social standing and a pleasant life. Jane, being a so-called ugly girl, will have low prospects for marriage, a lower level of social acceptance and respectability, and a less appealing life because she is not physically attractive. In contrast, Georgiana will have too many suitors to count and will most likely live a charmed and respected life with a high social standing because she is physically attractive. Bessie and Abbot illustrate this attitude perfectly when calling Jane a "little toad" who they cannot sympathize with and referring to Georgiana as a "little darling" who they are overjoyed to assist and please. In truth, Jane has a greater value as she is humble, kind, and intelligent compared to the frivolous, petty, and stupid Georgiana but because of societies' standards, only superficial appearance matters and inner beauty is worth nothing.