"She knew by now that she would never marry, and that she was in a very real sense wedded to her brother for life. It is hard to argue that Dorothy missed out on a writing career for her devotion, but it is certainly the case that she sacrificed herself as a woman to William's (vocational) desires."

--Kenneth R. Johnston, The Hidden Wordsworth

                                               Dearest Friend;
We two have known such happy hours together
That, were power granted to replace them (fetched
From out the pensive shadows where they lie)
In the first warmth of their original sunshine.
Loth should I be to use it: passing sweet
Are the domains of tender memory