As a human, William's core personality traits were passion and loyalty, though both were heavily sublimated by the conventions of Victorian England. As a product of his time, he channeled these attributes in conventional pursuits, such as nurturing an unrequited romance, an active scholarly life, and care for his aging mother. Highly creative and imaginative, William devoted considerable time to study, reflection, and literary arts, particularly romantic poetry. While his most fervent aspiration was to achieve recognition and acceptance by his peers, romantic interests, and literary community, his pervasive fear of rejection held him back from taking risks; as such, most of his contemporaries regarded him as a timid object of ridicule.