A woman can look both moral and exciting... if she also looks as if it was quite a struggle.

The line is a wry observation about social expectations placed on women—specifically the demand to appear virtuous (“moral”) while still being alluring (“exciting”). The punchline, “if she also looks as if it was quite a struggle,” suggests that society rewards a performance of restraint: desire is acceptable only when it seems hard-won and carefully controlled. Read this way, the quote satirizes a double standard in which women are expected to embody contradictory ideals and to signal that any transgression is reluctant rather than chosen. It fits Ferber’s broader reputation for sharp, socially attuned commentary on gender roles and public respectability.