I am firmly of the opinion that women who make a lot of effort to hang onto their looks in middle age (unless they are beauties, entertainers or prostitutes) are rather sad, as one should surely have something more substantial to recommend one by this time, such as kindness or cleverness.

Summary

This quote suggests that middle-aged women who excessively focus on maintaining their physical appearance, unless they work in fields that directly rely on their looks, are somehow pitiable. The speaker believes that by this stage in life, individuals should have developed more meaningful attributes like empathy or intelligence which should be valued over superficial beauty. This statement implies that there are more valuable qualities to possess than simply being visually appealing and encourages the recognition and cultivation of inner qualities over external appearance.