Barrett Browning as the "pious iconography ofwomanhood"has distracted us from her poetic achievements.Leighton cites the 1931 play by RudolfBesier,The Barretts of Wimpole Street,as evidence that 20thcentury literary criticism ofBarrett Browning's work has suffered more as a result of her popularity than poetic ineptitude.[19]The play waspopularized by actress Katharine Cornell,for whom it became a signature role.It was an enormous success,both artistically and commercially,and was revived several times and adapted twice into movies. Throughout the 20th century,literary criticism of Barrett Browning's poetry remained sparse until her poems were discovered by the women's movement.She once described herself as being inclined to reject several women's rights principles, suggesting in letters to Mary Russell Mitford and her husband that she believed that there was an inferiority ofintellect in women.In Aurora Leigh,however,she created a strongand independent woman who embraces both work and love.Leighton writes that because she participates in the literary world,where voice and diction are dominated by perceived masculine superiority,she"is defined only in mysteriousopposition to everything that distinguishes the male subject who writes."[19]Barrett Browning as the "pious iconography of womanhood" has distracted us from her poetic achievements. Leighton cites the 1931 play by Rudolf Besier, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, as evidence that 20th century literary criticism of Barrett Browning's work has suffered more as a result of her popularity than poetic ineptitude.[19]The play was popularized by actress Katharine Cornell, for whom it became a signature role. It was an enormous success, both artistically and commercially, and was revived several times and adapted twice into movies. Throughout the 20th century, literary criticism of Barrett Browning's poetry remained sparse until her poems were discovered by the women's movement. She once described herself as being inclined to reject several women's rights principles, suggesting in letters to Mary Russell Mitford and her husband that she believed that there was an inferiority of intellect in women. In Aurora Leigh, however, she created a strong and independent woman who embraces both work and love. Leighton writes that because she participates in the literary world, where voice and diction are dominated by perceived masculine superiority, she "is defined only in mysterious opposition to everything that distinguishes the male subject who writes."[19]