Dorothy Wordsworth did not want to be a writer, and even fought against having her works published saying they were meant only for her family. She wrote and allowed her writings to become public only through the insistence of her brother. She uses simple language to outline her powerful messages instead of camouflaging them with complex wordings. She provides very detailed and colorful situations of ordinary things.
In the Grasmere Journals Dorothy gives detailed descriptions of the actions of herself and those around her. Although many of the journals do not explain world changing events, she describes them in such a way that it attaches importance to these otherwise everyday occurrences. "The light of the fire made them a beautiful sight, with their innocent countenances, their rosy cheeks and glossy curling hair." (295) She shared a very special bond with her brother as the text points out that Mary Hutchinson was not simply marrying her brother William but marrying into that bond. (291)
In thoughts on my sick-bed Wordsworth describes the thoughts of herself struggling through debilitating illness. "Couchant within this feeble frame hath been enriched by kindred gifts, that, undesired, unsought-for came with joyful heart in youthful days.." (293) So Wordsworth seems to face her illness with an understanding that aging is a natural process and there is nothing she can do but accept it. Instead she thinks of the most beautiful things and finds herself among them. "No need of motion, or of strength, or even the breathing air: I thought of nature's loveliest scenes; and with memory I was there." (294) If this was truly the way she accepted her imminent death it seems to be a beautiful death. Too often we get caught up in the finality of death to really appreciate the lives that we each live. We all have these beautiful moments and what better time is their than sickness than to remember these times.
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4 comments:
I like your comments about how close she was to her brother. It seemed a little too close at times. I think maybe the attraction is too close towards William. Even though they may have been close as siblings, her description of their time by the waterfall seems extravagant.
I totally agree with you on this. It felt weird at times to read about the interaction between the two. It seemed like the relationship was more than just a friendship between the two. I mean I love my sister, but would never interact with her in the way that Dorothy and William did.
Jeremy,
I agree that the relationship of Dorothy and William was highly unusual by our modern experience; I don't know if it would have struck their contemporaries in the same way. I do think their relationship was the central experience that gave meaning to her life.
I like the way you quote passages from her works; be sure to discuss them and let your blog readers see their context and what you think about them.
Yeah, that relationship was a little too close for my comfort. I think that maybe we are just looking at things from todays standards and that maybe that was accepted then. I like how you say, "Too often we get caught up in the finality of death to really appreciate the lives that we each live. We all have these beautiful moments and what better time is their than sickness than to remember these times." This made me think about how we should view death. When people are dying is the time we should be honoring their lives.
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