This quote from The Provoked Wife by John Vanbrugh offers a vivid and somewhat contradictory portrayal of a woman's physical features and the speaker's strong feelings towards her. The speaker enumerates several prominent features — nose, chin, neck, eyes — with an almost exaggerated attention to detail, emphasizing each distinctively while leading up to a sharply negative conclusion about her lips. The displeasure expressed unveils more than just physical dissatisfaction; it perhaps suggests a deeper personal or emotional conflict. The language conveys a mixture of attraction and repulsion, a dynamic that reflects the complexity of human relationships and perceptions.

From a modern perspective, this passage can be seen as an example of how appearances are judged subjectively and how personal biases shape our judgments about others. The intense scrutiny and focus on physical attributes underscore how people can fixate on external traits while possibly overlooking inner qualities or the full humanity of someone. Moreover, the phrase "what a nose she has! what a chin! what a neck!" punctuated with exclamation marks, shows both an element of fascination and distortion, while the final note on "the worst kissing lips in the universe" starkly flips any admiration into contempt.

Such a conflicting depiction also invites readers to consider the social and gender dynamics at play, where a man's perception can harshly label a woman based on appearance and personal emotional experience. It reflects on themes of desire, judgment, and possibly frustration in interpersonal interactions, all wrapped in a dramatic and vivid expressive style characteristic of Vanbrugh's work. Overall, the quote challenges readers to reflect on how complex and sometimes contradictory human emotions and perceptions of others can be.