"Girls blush, sometimes, because they are alive, half wishing they were dead to save the shame. The sudden blush devours them, neck and brow; They have drawn too near the fire of life, like gnats, and flare up bodily, wings and all. What then? Who's sorry for a gnat or girl?"

This quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning speaks with the pity and humiliation that girls feel when they are alive. She compares the sensation of pity to a gnat that has flown too near to the fire and flares in the heat. She is recommending that ladies feel the very same way, that they have come too near to the fire of life and are overwhelmed by the heat of the moment. She is likewise recommending that there is no need to feel sorry for either the gnat or the lady, as they are both simply attempting to endure in their own method. The quote speaks to the idea that women ought to not be ashamed of their emotions, but rather accept them and utilize them to their advantage. It is a pointer that women must not be ashamed of their feelings, however rather utilize them to their benefit.