When reading the first two parts of Dorothy Wordsworth journals entries, they all seemed very short, only outlining the actions of her day. I did notice, however, when she was in nature or on one of her many walks her writing took a whole new form. It was full of description and such strong life like actions to nature. An example of this would be on June 2nd entry on page 39 as she writes “I sate a long time to watch the hurrying waves, and to head the regularly irregular sound of the dashing water”. While I was reading, I instantly stopped after I got to that sentence. I reread it a few times, trying to imagine the sound of water of regularly irregular.
I also noticed, while reading the first part, there is a stretch where William is away and Dorothy does not go on walks. This stood out to me because all of her journal entries are so similar and then William had to be away and she was saddened and not going on her walks. I wondered if the two of them went on walks so both could write and then William could borrow his sister’s ideas of what they experienced on their walks together. I do questions this idea though because in the opening of part one, William and John have left and Dorothy writes “I resolved to write a journal of the time W. and J. return, and I set about keeping my resolve because I will not quarrel with myself, and I shall give Wm. pleasure by it when he comes home.” (pg. 33). After I remembered reading this passage, my conclusion is that it is not the walks that William use ideas from, but the entire journal. He encourages her to keep that journal, even when he is gone so he will have material to come home to. Dorothy may not go on her typical walks, like she does every evening when William is home, but she walks plenty of places during the day (to Miss Simpsons for example) to take in the detail of the nature around her and write about.
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