It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so 'don't fuss, dear; get on with it'.

Hepburn frames her moral outlook as an “old-fashioned” ethic of self-effacement: the needs of others take precedence over one’s own comfort, and personal hardship is met with stoic practicality (“don’t fuss…get on with it”). The remark resonates with her public image—elegant, disciplined, and service-oriented—and helps explain why she was often described as unusually courteous and uncomplaining. Read more broadly, the quote contrasts a duty-based, communal sense of character with modern ideals of self-assertion. It suggests that dignity can come from restraint and perseverance, and that compassion is not merely a feeling but a practiced habit of putting oneself second.