Robert on the other hand was in love before they ever met. In his very first letter to her, Browning professed his love for Elizabeth. In spite of his forwardness, they continued to corresponded for several months. Winning her trust and then her love was a big challenge for Browning. To complicate everything, Elizabeth had lived as an invalid for six years, later revealed much of her illness was a result of an over-protective and over-bearing father.
What happened next is a clear testimony of the power of love. In time, Robert didn’t just woo Elizabeth, he enabled her to break free of her father and subsequently overcome much of the debilitating effects of her spinal injury. After months of tender care and encouragement, Robert convinced his beloved she could walk and she did. This was the start of their passionate love affair that followed in marriage. Robert demonstrated to Elizabeth the ultimate true love and continued throughout life to encourage and challenge her to move beyond all limitations, not just her physical ones. She began to stretch creatively in her writings.
This poetic couple defied all social mores to be together because Robert was younger than Elizabeth by six years. Even when he managed to gain Elizabeth’s acceptance, her father refused and promptly rejected Robert’s marriage proposal. So, Elizabeth did what any woman worth her romantic salt would do– she eloped to Italy!
They lived the kind of life lovers everywhere dream of. They were true romantics. Even when Elizabeth became more successful in her work than Robert, there was only devotion and love between them.
Browning’s career was not as successful as Elizabeth, a renowned poet when they first met. He was referred to as Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s husband. Yet his devotion was unwavering. She inspired his collection of poems titled, Men and Women and dedicated the book to her. Unfortunately, in 1855 this book received very little notice, however in today’s world, it is touted as some of his best work.
The biggest test of this kind of love came when her work received international accolades. . Robert was thrilled for Elizabeth’s successes and continued to encourage his wife to write from her heart. She in turn encouraged him in his writing and they had a happy life together.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in 1861. It was in 1868 before Robert received the kind of acclaim he deserved for his book, The Ring and the Book. In 1881 The Browning Society was found and a year later he was awarded an honorary degree from Oxford University. In 1884 the University of Edinburgh followed with a degree. His final book of verse, Asolando, was published in 1889 and he died on the very day it was released.
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2 comments:
And a supportive husband is still so important, even today. Great story!
That is so true, Natasha. I would never have started writing again had it not been for my husband insisting I should. Took him 3 years to convince me. (g)
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