Allusions And Theme In The Goblin Market By Christina Rossetti

Within ‘A Doll’s House’ Nora Helmer has a strong appetite for knowledge. This is particularly evident in her voracious longing for independence: “But it was great fun, though, sitting there working and earning money. It was almost like being a man”. This knowledge of “being a man”, and what that entails, would be unknown to many women during the Victorian era due to the fiercely patriarchal society that was perpetuated. The desire for knowledge and its inaccessible nature is particularly evident in the lack of further education for women. In fact, in the United Kingdom the first widespread report of female further education was the Edinburgh Seven in 1869. Whilst that instance of knowledge was not destructive, in the case of Nora and ‘A Doll’s House’ her appetite for knowledge is ultimately catastrophic for the Victorian female ideal due to the secrecy she creates around it: “My husband must never know of this”. As a result of this concealment and Nora’s appetite for knowledge, the Victorian ideal unravels and ultimately becomes destructive. Likewise, in Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’ an appetite for knowledge is ultimately destructive for the characters within the poem. After tasting the “fruit” of the “Goblin Men” and becoming knowledgeable of the taste and effects of it Laura “knew not was it night or day”. This confusion of time and geographical

In a harsh world, desire is something that can bring vulnerability to any person. Cristiana Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” is a riveting tale about two sisters who handle desire differently. One knows desire exists, but has the maturity and courage to not give in to her own yearnings, whereas the other cannot control her desires and pays dearly for them. Love is a strong theme in “Goblin Market” and is shown through the love that Lizzie has for her sister, Laura. Lizzie does not let her desire get the best of her when hearing the goblin men, she “thrust a dimpled finger / In each ear, shut her eyes and ran” (Rossetti 67-68). However, it is Laura that falls into a desire for the goblin men through curiosity: “Curious Laura chose to linger / Wondering at each merchant man” (Rossetti 69-70). The difference in the sisters understanding of desire cannot be better shown than in these lines.

Christian Rossetti utilizes a unique insight into her works of ‘Maude Clare’, ‘Goblin Market’ and ‘Amor Mundi’ to express the struggle of religious values of the Victorian era. Throughout the three passages Rossetti uses devices such as alliteration, repetition and symbolism in order to express sentiment.

Ironically, nature is a theme used often in “A Daughter of Eve”; it is clear Rossetti had a mocking, slightly humorous intent for all the feminine imagery she used to indirectly discuss a topic considered much too inappropriate for a young respectable lady. In Rossetti’s time, it was crucial for a young woman to have a flourishing, beautiful gardem, because the garden represented much more than their hobby or ability to take care of plants. A woman’s garden-plot was her

In Goblin Market, when Laura is infected with the goblin’s poisonous fruits “her sister [stands] in deadly peril to do her good, and win the fiery antidote”. (Rossetti, 558-559) Evidently, the relentless bravery Lizzie illustrates when facing the violence and temptations of the goblins to save her sister’s life is used by Rossetti to provide an impression of power in female refusal to vigorous male

As the poem continues, Laura’s hunger only grows more intense. She looks up at the goblin men as they entice her and repeatedly tell her to come buy their fruits. Lizzie tells her not to fall into their trap, but “Curious Laura chose to linger” (69). The words “curiosity” and “linger” show that Laura’s hunger has not yet become strong, as she is only beginning to become interested at this point. In other words, they depict that Laura is slowly becoming drawn in by the goblin men; it wasn’t an immediate switch from completely uninterested to strong desire. While she is not eagerly pursuing the goblin men, she is lingering around them and isn’t actively avoiding them anymore. She wonders what their “gifts” are and will do for her, so she stays around longer than she should. If Rossetti omitted or changed the words “curious” or “linger,” the meaning of this line would greatly differ. As Laura realizes cannot have their fruits, she only becomes more engrossed by them as her hunger grows immensely.

The notion of women being afraid of love is timeless. Even today, despite the radical increase of freedoms and rights women have in comparison with Victorian women, there is a sense that being in love will take something away from the self. In the movie Iron Jawed Angels, Alice Paul states that “When you are alone, you can make any choice you want, but when someone loves you, you lose that right.” I believe that Christina Rossetti held a deep, subconscious fear that she would lose herself, her religion and her right to make choices in her own life if she allowed herself to truly love and be loved in return. This fear is reflected in various characters throughout her works. More importantly, the lessons learned and ignored by her characters are important for the reader. We may think that perhaps Alice Paul was right; perhaps there are valid reasons for women to be hesitant to fully give themselves over to a power as strong as eros love; perhaps Rossetti’s choice to put religion and a relationship with God above all else was truly the wisest path to take. However, through reading these texts and recognizing what she herself may have known only on a subconscious level, we are able to learn from Rossetti’s choices and realize the need to overcome our natural tendencies to give in to similar fears in our own lives.

The Victorian period marked the first traces of progress in the feminist movement, and poet Christina Rossetti embraced the advancement as her own long-established principles slowly became publicly acceptable. Her poem "Goblin Market" comments on the institutions in Victorian society that she and her feminist contemporaries wished to see altered, creating modern female heroines to carry out its messages. The goblins serve as malicious male figures to tempt the innocent heroines, sisters Laura and Lizzie, to corruption.

Rossetti uses the story of Adam and Eve to parallel to her characters because Adam and Eve were banished for their sin rather than accepted. Rossetti uses that specific biblical creation myth to display an alternative ending for a woman succumbing to the temptations of the forbidden fruit by having Laura stay integrated into society and become a respectable mother. Rossetti also challenges the role of Adam by having his character a woman, Lizzie. Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eye… she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave it unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Authorized King James Version, Gen. 3.6). Adam was not tempted by the serpent, but only ate the fruit because Eve already had. The Goblins tried to force Lizzie to eat, “Held her hands and squeez’d their Fruits / Against her mouth to make her eat”(406-07), but Lizzie was strong and did waver from her task. Lizzie, unlike Adam, did not give into eating the forbidden fruit; she stayed a strong and morally righteous

A seemingly innocent poem about two sisters’ encounters with goblin men, Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” is a tale of seduction and lust. Behind the lattice of the classic mortal entrapment and escapement from fairyland, “Goblin Market” explores Laura’s desire for heterosexual knowledge, the goblin men’s desire for mortal flesh, and Laura and Lizzie’s desire for homosexual eroticism.

Christina Rossetti’s poem, Goblin Market, was written in the Victorian era during a time of vast social change across Europe. Though the Victorian period was a time of female suppression and order, Rossetti exposed social stigmas and ideologies that are displayed through the journey of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie. Despite initial impressions of a childhood fairytale, the suggestive and multi-interpretive use of language signifies an underlying message of erotic sexual commentary and feminist views. In addition, Rossetti conveys moral lessons by illustrating consequences of the goblin’s seduction. Through the sister’s experience with the goblins, the power of sisterhood becomes undeniable. Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market serves as a

The short epic poem the Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti resembles a fairytale because of the goblins and the happy ending of the united sisters, however the metaphors and allegory of fruit is ambiguous for different interpretations of drugs, sexual pleasures, temptation to sin, etc. The poem is broken into four major sections- temptation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Many people had mixed feelings toward the poem; some were even shocked of the Goblin Market because of how dark it is since Rossetti is usually linked to children novels and nurseries. The target audiences is not children but adolescents, as this poem is a merely a stage to warn young women about temptation and desires.

Goblin Market, an 1862 narrative poem written by Christina Rossetti, also fashionably presents the theme of sisterhood even though the context of the poem is different from the one shown in Little Women. For the first century after its publication, many parents and teachers alike read the poem to children as a way of teaching them about the importance of sisterhood and sisterly heroism. Thus, Rossetti made the theme of sisterhood one of the poem's essential themes as a way of presenting a particular message to the community and the upcoming generations, especially considering that it was a period where women did not have a significant role in the society. One of the areas

Christina Rossetti 's poem "Goblin Market" is what many deem Christina 's best work. "Goblin Market" presents itself as rather fairy tale like, featuring of several strange things, a parade of mythical goblin men. In fact Rosseti claims to have written it as a childrens poem. However, many who analayze or many of those who have read this poem claim that the underlining themes of "Goblin Market" feature a host of adult themes. Of several of those are "a struggle between self and soul, a comment on sex as a capitalist commodity, a parable of feminist solidary, a lesson about poetry 's subversive power, and a lesbian love story" (Heather Henderson and William Sharpe, 2010, p. 1644). Although, these themes are all apparently present within Rossetti 's work, another theme that has not been mentioned is also present. Evident within "Goblin Market" is a signifcant focus on capitalism and industrialism. England during the Victorian era proved itself quite accomplished within the realms of industry, capitalism, science, and literature. There is evidence that as the nation became stronger, powerful, and more profitable, morality suffered. So, along with these many achievements, many individuals had crisis of religous faith, while a substantial focus on capitalist greed and social darwinism took center stage. A concentration of these social attutides and their consequences are featured within Rossetti 's "Goblin Market", in several areas of her poem.

Goblin Market was composed in the mid-eighteenth century, England; therefore, Rossetti’s poem contains the gender roles present during era. The opening lines state the type of characters that will be featured