Don't marry a man to reform him–that's what reform schools are for.

In this wry, characteristically Mae West–style aphorism, marriage is framed not as a moral improvement project but as a partnership entered with clear-eyed acceptance. The joke hinges on the contrast between a romantic ideal—changing a partner through love—and the institutional reality of “reform schools,” places designed to correct behavior through discipline. West’s line satirizes the cultural expectation (often placed on women) to “fix” flawed men, warning that such a motive is misguided and likely futile. The quip also reinforces West’s broader persona: skeptical of conventional respectability, blunt about desire and power, and insistent on personal agency in relationships.