Sentence:  And just as `` Laurie '' Lawrence was first attracted to bright Jo March , who found him immature by her high <WSD>standards</WSD> , and then had to content himself with her younger sister Amy , so Joe Jastrow , who had also been writing Henrietta before he came to Johns Hopkins , had to content himself with her younger sister , pretty Rachel . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated