Why did Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett keep their courtship secret?

Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett kept their courtship secret primarily due to Elizabeth’s father, Edward Moulton Barrett. He was a despotic, dominant, and selfish man who was jealously fond of his daughter. Elizabeth stood in significant fear of him, and because she had been an invalid for many years, she had become deeply dependent on his love.12

Knowing that her father would likely oppose their relationship, the couple maintained a clandestine correspondence and met regularly in secret. Their need to act became urgent when Elizabeth’s doctors ordered her to travel to Italy for her health, and her father refused to grant permission. Consequently, they were married in secret on September 12, 1846, and left for Pisa one week later. Elizabeth remained estranged from her father for the rest of her life.12