For many critics, Dorothy Wordsworth remains enigmatic. Critical attempts to define her and her work have frequently concluded she is pathetic and unsophisticated in her writing, and, at best, is important as an integral part of her brother William’s creative development and his work. This paper hypothesizes that the aesthetic revealed in The Grasmere Journals ،and Dorothy’s letters and poetry exhibits a carefully sculpted outward cheerfulness and harmony, and an inward melancholy born of fear of marginalization. The aesthetic revealed in these works illustrates an internalized understanding of 19th century philosophic ideals, gained through her extensive reading and contacts.