Crushes

Jordan jumps to quick conclusions when he meets Miss Lydia, and imagines her to be they type of woman his mother would want him to marry.  I think it is a bit strange that after only meeting the girl once, he imagines what it would be like to have her as his wife.  And still, the mental image is not even the nicest.  Jordan thinks, “he could choose one of her proffered young ladies, the richest one.  His daily life would be orderly, his breakfasts would be edible, his children would be respectful.  The act of procreation would be undergone unseen, prudently veiled in white cotton- she, dutiful but properly averse, he within his rights- but need never be mentioned.  His some would have all the modern comforts, and he himself would he sheltered in velvet.  There are worse fates.” 
For most men of the time, the life that Jordan described would be the ideal.  We witness the conversations Jordan has with Grace; he grows compassionate towards a woman who does not fit society’s standards of “respectable.” I think that Jordan’s upbringing has somehow tainted his perception of women and what he finds to be attractive.  Growing up with a controlling mother who imposed the principles and values of women into his mind, Simon Jordan is now rebelling against those constructs, much like Grace did herself.  He finds himself attracted to her indignation and self-reliance, but conveniently overlooking the fact that she is convicted of murder.