--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How I should despise such a thing if I…" description: "\"“How I should despise such a thing if I were a man. What a nose she has! what a chin! what a neck! Then her eyes--and the worst kissing lips in the uni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/john-vanbrugh-25478_beauty_how-i-should-despise-such-a-thing-if-i-w_355042.jpg" --- # How I should despise such a thing if I were a man. What a… ![“How I should despise such a thing if I were a man. What a nose she has! what a chin! what a neck! Then her eyes--and the worst kissing lips in the universe.” quote by John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/john-vanbrugh-25478_beauty_how-i-should-despise-such-a-thing-if-i-w_355042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/john-vanbrugh-25478_beauty_how-i-should-despise-such-a-thing-if-i-w_355042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/john-vanbrugh-25478_beauty_how-i-should-despise-such-a-thing-if-i-w_355042.jpg) > ““How I should despise such a thing if I were a man. What a nose she has! what a chin! what a neck! Then her eyes--and the worst kissing lips in the universe.”” [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical critique of superficial attraction, focusing on exaggerated physical features and flawed intimacy. **In simple terms:** Mocking shallow beauty standards. Key Takeaway Look beyond appearances. Themes beauty superficiality desire humor Mood witty critical Type theatrical satirical When to use this quote - dating - media criticism - self‑esteem - artistic expression Key Concepts aesthetic judgment social satire Questions to Reflect On - What defines true attraction? - How does humor reveal bias? A Different Perspective May be perceived as harsh. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips/) ## Related quotes > [In the Anthropology Club, as I understood it, you were permitted, if not required, to despise only one thing, and that was your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-portis/in-the-anthropology-club-as-i-understood-it-you-were-permitted-if-not/) [Charles Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-portis/) > [“Our own eyes were our worst critics. 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But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) ## More by John Vanbrugh > [If women were humbler, men would be more honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/if-women-were-humbler-men-would-be-more-honest/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [The want of a thing is perplexing enough, but the possession of it, is intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/the-want-of-a-thing-is-perplexing-enough-but-the-possession-of-it-is/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [True virtue, wheresoever it moves, still carries an intrinsic worth about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/true-virtue-wheresoever-it-moves-still-carries-an-intrinsic-worth/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [“Shield me, kind heaven, what an inundation of impertinence is here coming upon us!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/shield-me-kind-heaven-what-an-inundation-of-impertinence-is-here/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Let our weakness be what it will, mankind will still be weaker; and whilst there is a world, 'tis woman that will govern it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/let-our-weakness-be-what-it-will-mankind-will-still-be-weaker-and/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [We're gaily yet, we're gaily yet, And we're not very fow, but we're gaily yet; Then set ye awhile, and tipple a bit, For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/we-re-gaily-yet-we-re-gaily-yet-and-we-re-not-very-fow-but-we-re/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [As if a woman of education bought things because she wanted 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/as-if-a-woman-of-education-bought-things-because-she-wanted-em/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Love, like virtue, is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/love-like-virtue-is-its-own-reward/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Tho marriage be a lottery in which there are a wondrous many blanks, yet there is one inestimable lot in which the only heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/tho-marriage-be-a-lottery-in-which-there-are-a-wondrous-many-blanks/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Love's like virtue, its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/love-s-like-virtue-its-own-reward/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Friendship's said to be a plant of tedious growth, its root composed of tender fibers, nice in their taste, cautious in spreading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/friendship-s-said-to-be-a-plant-of-tedious-growth-its-root-composed/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [You may build castles in the air, and fume, and fret, and grow thin and lean, and pale and ugly, if you please. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/you-may-build-castles-in-the-air-and-fume-and-fret-and-grow-thin-and/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Custom is the law of fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/custom-is-the-law-of-fools/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [Thinking is to me the greatest fatigue in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/thinking-is-to-me-the-greatest-fatigue-in-the-world/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [No man is worth having is true to his wife, or can be true to his wife, or ever was, or ever will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/no-man-is-worth-having-is-true-to-his-wife-or-can-be-true-to-his-wife/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) [Explore all 23 John Vanbrugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. 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