I read a lot of Marion Chesney novels, all set in the Regency period, and the phrase 'no better than she ought to be" is invariably used to refer to a prostitute, usually a woman kept as a mistress.
I know this is an old thread, etc, but just thought it might be relevant to add a literary reference for this expression.
In Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, Polly Garter (who is either the town prostitute, or is perhaps merely promiscuous), says (near the start of the play, where characters are introducing themselves):
The implication here seems to be that it means a person is unpretentious and not well-thought of, but not bad.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that an old fashioned look is not* old fashioned *in the contemporary sense of being out of date but the look of someone who was born (made or fashioned) old ie with the wisdom of the ages in their eyes.
She was hurt by it ,and never really forgot it.when i asked her what it meant she could’nt explain what it meant .I was always curious about its meaning .She had been devorced before but then So had her husbands sister.This was in the 50’ /60’s.It made her withdrawn and depressed hearing this which was sad
Welcome to the SDMB, Barbiella. This is an old thread, what we call on the SDMB a zombie.
FWIW, my interpretation is that "no better than she should be"is a disparaging remark about a woman’s sexual morality - in this case, that your mother’s divorce meant she was promiscuous. If you are interested in a better answer, you might consider starting a new thread.
Again, welcome.
Regards,
Shodan