The website for Agnes Scott College has a wonderful collection of biographies of math women -- and today I focus particularly on the story of mathematician Marie-Sophie Germain (1776-1831). I quote below a few words about Germain:
Sophie began teaching herself mathematics using the books in her father's library. Her parents felt that her interest was inappropriate for a female (the common belief of the middle-class in the 19th century) and did all that they could to discourage her.
Related to the idea expressed in this quote is a thoughtful poem about Germain by Colorado poet Jessy Randall; the poem is part of Randall's very special collection Mathematics for Ladies, Goldsmiths Press, 2022 and I offer it below: