[She meant it both literally and in an unconscious way: figuratively as well. But he doesn't call her out for it so she doesn't elaborate.]

That is a strange way of thinking. Even by just living every day, you are already putting yourself in a position in which your hands will become dirty, you will get paper cuts from books, soil under your fingernails, and after making dinner, your hands will smell of food. I have always thought that it is a wonderful thing. It is the mark of having accomplished something of your own. Surely that is more important than the state of one's hands.