The quote from Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" highlights the complex relationship women have with their beauty. It suggests that a woman is aware of her physical attractiveness and recognizes it as a form of power or leverage in the world. This awareness imbues her with a sense of confidence, as though her beauty is a tool she can wield, albeit sometimes without fully understanding its implications.

Moreover, the comparison of beauty to a child's play with knives implies that while beauty can be a source of strength, it also comes with risks and dangers. Just as a child may inadvertently hurt themselves with a knife, a woman may find that her beauty can lead to harm or manipulation. This duality emphasizes the need for awareness of how such power can be both empowering and perilous.