Independence is happiness.

Taken at face value, the line condenses a central theme in nineteenth-century women’s rights rhetoric: that personal and civic freedom—economic self-support, control over one’s labor and body, and equal standing before the law—are prerequisites for a fulfilling life. Read this way, “independence” is not mere self-reliance but liberation from legal and social dependence (on husbands, employers, or the state). The aphoristic equation of independence with happiness also functions as an argument: denying women autonomy is not only unjust but a direct assault on human flourishing. However, without a verified primary source, this interpretation remains thematic rather than text-specific.