No, I agree with you! I always find it fascinating any time a discussion breaks out over what actors or actresses are the best for certain characters, or what Elizabeth is supposed to look like, etc, to see the range of opinions, not only about what a character "should" look like, but even over who, among real actors, is the prettiest, the handsomest, etc. Personal taste can vary so much, and Austin generally gave such spare descriptions that there's wide latitude for interpretation.
I remember watching the commentary on the Sense and Sensibility movie that starred Emma Thompson (one of my favorites). The director, Ang Lee, was talking about how Thompson was of course much older than Elinor in the book, but that he felt that her performance drew people in so much that they didn't care. He actually said he avoided doing closeups on her face right at the beginning of the movie, but later, once everyone had time to get into it, he could do lots of them, because by then you had believed in her character so strongly that her age didn't matter. So there's an example of the kind of thing you're talking about, where looking perfect is not nearly so important as understanding and conveying personality and presence.
I remember watching the commentary on the Sense and Sensibility movie that starred Emma Thompson (one of my favorites). The director, Ang Lee, was talking about how Thompson was of course much older than Elinor in the book, but that he felt that her performance drew people in so much that they didn't care. He actually said he avoided doing closeups on her face right at the beginning of the movie, but later, once everyone had time to get into it, he could do lots of them, because by then you had believed in her character so strongly that her age didn't matter. So there's an example of the kind of thing you're talking about, where looking perfect is not nearly so important as understanding and conveying personality and presence.