It is well to fly towards the light, even where there may be some fluttering and bruising of wings.

Lifted from a love letter to the man who would become her husband, this quote speaks to the indomitable optimism of the young Elizabeth Barrett. It has recently been theorized that Elizabeth suffered from a health condition that causes extreme muscle weakness or paralysis — yet the condition that had her bedridden for much of her life never dampened her spirits. She read voraciously, and by the age of 12 had composed her first epic poem. She was 38 when she began her correspondence with Robert Browning; the two exchanged 574 letters over the course of 20 months before eloping and settling down in Italy, where she continued to write poetry until her death in 1861.