I agree with that interpretation of mortifying. He is definitely mortified to realize that she's really pretty after all. I'm just pointing out that his realization of this fact started with his realization of her intelligence. It is how intelligent her face is rendered (by the beautiful expression in her dark eyes) that catches his attention. And it is the intelligence of her face that elevates it above the common. As someone else has pointed out, this is usually the way it is with people. Features alone don't comprise beauty--expression and manner are at least as important in determining a person's overall attractiveness. And the text doesn't really say that his initial estimation of her figure, say, is completely off--it does lack some symmetry. Only now, instead of only focusing on its imperfections, he notices that, regardless of those imperfections, it's still a pretty and pleasing figure. It's really just the difference in perspective of someone who looked at her only to criticize, only to find fault, and one who looks at her more fairly and sees everything that is attractive about her, despite her lack of perfection.
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