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Notes -
"Market value"
If we taboo the word “market value” and just call it “desirability in matchmaking”, would that satisfy you? The second sounds rather like something Jane Austen would propound upon.
Yes, if he talks with his women friends about romantic matches and references Emma, they will probably be more interested and experience less ick.
And why the ick? It's not obvious that your "desirability in matchmaking" would correlate with the "desirability in matchmaking" of the partners you are able to attract, whereas if you use the term SMV it's immediately obvious how the two might correlated.
It is obvious, because that's literally what matchmaking is about, thinking about the desires of both parties, and whether they will match up. That's why I referenced Emma, because it's a novel where the female protagonist thought too much about what she valued in her friend, rated her too highly in respect to marriage, and made a mess of things as a result.
The ick is probably from times and places where women were literally bought and sold, and didn't get to choose.
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