She was one of the primary influences that turned Browning away from the Christianity of his mother. His other influence, the writing of Shelley, a known aethist, taught Browning to be an independent free thinker. After reading Shelley's book, Queen Mab , Browning became an aethist and a vegetarian(DeVane & Smalley, 1984). He rejected his mother's world to gain a sense of liberty and independence(Irvine & Honan, 1974). This faith change at such an early age seemed to lead to a continual spiritual inconsistency throughout his life. Browning had trouble accepting any faith or religion he chose to follow and often questioned his judgment in faith related decisions. Robert Browning considered Shelley to be moral because he was "true, simple hearted and brave"(cited in Payne, 1967, p.198). He found him to also be a man of religious mind because Shelley was "everywhere taking for granted some of the capital dogmas of Christianity, while most vehemently denying their historical basement" (cited in Payne, 1967, p.199). Browning clearly possessed a great respect for Shelley which followed him through much of his early poetry. Browning's life was "fundamentally affected"(Miller, 1953, p.9) by the Shelley's writing. During his adolescence, Browning may have recognized Shelley's, "fearless spiritual independence"(Miller, 1953, p.9). He noticed a "principal of conduct whereby to measure in the years to come not only the sum of his own poetic achievement but the very nature of human integrity itself"(Miller, 1953, p.9). Although there is no available poetry written before his first published work, Pauline, his early aethism is still reflected in his early poetry. Robert Browning eloped to Italy with Elizabeth Barret. Upon meeting his extremely religious wife and with her persuasion, Browning began to realize that Shelley's poetry had led him to a life of self- absorption. Yet, "Robert took a skeptical attitude on the spiritual rappings, spurred on perhaps by his wife's immediate will to believe"(Markus,1995, p.
