Dorothy Wordsworth and "The Grasmere Journals"

As I began reading about Dorothy Wordsworth, I thought that her relationship with her brother was very strange. From her biographical information I knew her mother died when she was young and she was passed from relative to relative. I thought that she may have been so attached to William because she longed for that family relationship she had missed in her childhood. Despite the strange dynamic of the relationship she had with William, it did reveal how caring she was. She loved her brother dearly and would have done anything to make him happy. The author even states, " she had written only for family and friends. When she began her Grasmere journal, she told herself that she was writing to give William 'pleasure'."(pg 290).

I fully enjoyed reading Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere journals. I thought that they were easy to read and understand. Although her writings do not take much analysis like many of the other writers we have read, they are enjoyable because of the simplicity of them. The simplicity of her writing allows you to pay attention to the descriptions she provides as opposed to trying to look for something deeper than what is already there. The writings truly are accounts of her daily life, and at times I found myself getting caught up in her descriptive language.

Wordsworth begins her Grasmere journals with a beautiful description. She writes, " My heart was so full that I could hardly speak to W when I gave him a farewell kiss. I sate a long time upon a stone at the margin of the lake, & after a flood of tears my heart was easier. The lake looked to me I knew not why dull and melancholy, the weltering on the shores seemed a heavy sound." (pg 294). I thought this was a wonderful opening passage because it was so open. Dorothy Wordsworth really opened herself up emotionally and invites the reader into her journals.

As the journals go on, I enjoyed reading of her many adventures. It was quite obvious that nature influenced her writings tremendously much like her brother. In a Vision of the Moon Wordsworth writes, " O the unutterable darkness of the sky & the Earth below the Moon! & the glorious brightness of the moon itself! There was a vivid sparkling streak of light at this end of Rydale water but the rest was very dark & Loughrigg fell and Silver How were white & bright as if they were covered with hoar frost."(pg 296). With this description, I almost felt as if I was walking alongside Wordsworth and experiencing this beautiful sight with her. There are many other beautiful descriptions of nature that she gives throughout her journal, but one that I especially loved was in the Home Alone portion of the journal. She wrote, "A beautiful yellow, palish yellow flower, that looked thick round & double, and smelt very sweet"(pg 294-295). With this description, I got a very vivid image of this flower. This description is very indicative of Wordsworth's writings all the way through her journal.

As did her relationship with her brother, her journals also revealed to me what a loving and compassionate person she was. She has many encounters with various people in her journal and she makes many comments about the state that these people are living in. She always discusses the less fortunate with a very sympathetic tone... it is obvious that she feels sorry for these people. Wordsworth tells of a particular woman they met with two children whose husband left her. She describes, "On the Rays we met a woman with 2 little girls one in her arms the other about 4 years old walking by her side, a pretty little thing, but half starved. She had on a pair of slippers that had belonged to some gentleman's child, down at the heels it was not easy to keep them on but, poor thing! young as she was, she walked carefully with them. Alas too young for such cares & such travels. The Mother when we accosted her told us that her husband had left her & gone off with another woman & how she 'pursued' them."(pg 297). This quotes is so descriptive. I felt as if I was standing next to the little girl with her slippers. The fact that Wordsworth even mentioned this woman shows that the event impacted her in some way. She felt sorry for the children enduring this lifestyle. Wordsworth even gave this woman money because she felt so bad for her.