Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet If Thou Must Love Me, though written in the Victorian era, is still relevant not only for Indian women, but also for the women of the entire world. In this poem, the poet demands unconditional and genuine love from her lover. She does not like to be loved for her physical beauty, smile or gentleness. She knows those things are bound to change with time and so she may lose her love. That is why she wants ‘love for love’s sake only’, so that she can love and be loved for an eternity. The poet was radically assertive to demand such sincere love in her time.
 
In reality we still see that women are loved (?) for their fairness, their physical charm and may be way of walking too. This claim can be ascertained from the rapid rise of fairness products industry. In countries like India women use fairness creams to make themselves look fairer in order to secure love. Most women are not self-reliant; they are ignorant of their own strengths and their inner beauty. So, they are busy to polish themselves physically to attract the opposite sex. This is quite contradictory to what Elizabeth Browning had demanded ages before. Now it’s time for the women of this so-called modern world to raise their hands and say ‘I know my strengths. Love me for what I am. Love me for love’s sake.’