Raina and Louka are more different than alike. They are similar, however, in both being engaged to the "wrong" man because he happens to be of their own social class. Both are alike, too, in ending up with the man they most want.

Louka differs from Raina in being a lower-class servant who, lacking Raina's material advantages, has to live by her wits. This harsh life experience has made Louka sharp and practical. Raina has grown up, in contrast, in a pampered world where all her needs have been taken care of since birth. This leads her to think romantically and unrealistically of Sergius as a warrior hero. She makes him uncomfortable because she puts him on a pedestal, while Louka is down-to-earth and without illusions about him.

Louka is ambitious and wants to marry up. She belittles her fiance Nicola for not wanting to move beyond the servant class. Louka goes after Sergius boldly as her ticket out of life as maid, to which she is ill suited.

Raina has been born to privilege, so she doesn't have to develop Louka's scrappy ambition. Since her material needs are provided for by her parents, Raina isn't looking to better her situation and can marry the frank, down-to-earth Bluntschli simply because he appeals to her.

Shaw had a keen sense of how class influences people, which shows in the differences between the two female leads.