This quote is talking about a person (presumably a female) who made a difficult decision at a young age. She gave up her beauty, hope, joy, and pleasant ways (all the things that made her feel happy and attractive), so that she could focus on a more difficult truth. She also closed off her eyes, so that she could avoid looking at things that cause her to feel vain. In other words, she chose to make difficult choices and give up things that she enjoyed, in order to have a better understanding of the truth.