Helen has obviously fallen in love, and in doing so, she has set aside all rationality in favor of romance and fantasies of reforming a sinful man. Her promise to her aunt about marrying a man for his inner worth meant nothing in the face of reality. Arthur Huntingdon has little to recommend him beyond looks, charm, and a penchant for fun. He is the very man Mrs. Maxwell warned her about, but Helen is determined to love him anyway, and prove her worth as a Christian by saving him from a life of ill-spent leisure.