#14: Letters Hinted at Unconventional Feelings
Amelia’s personal life fascinated the public as much as her flying. In a candid letter to George Putnam before their wedding, she warned, “You must know again my reluctance to marry… I feel the move just now as foolish as anything I could do.” She demanded their union remain free, writing, “I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me, nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly.”
She even allowed for the possibility of loving others: “Should you or I become interested deeply (or passing) in anyone else,” they would be honest about it. This defiant stance, paired with her tender letters to close female friends, stirred whispers about hidden passions. She wrote to some women with admiration and longing unusual for the time, adding intrigue to the mystery of her private world.