Christina Rossetti's poem, "Goblin Market," draws a clear connection between the biblical Fall and the story of the forbidden fruit while simultaneously illustrating the close relationship of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie. The poem tells a tale of temptation and obsession in the interaction between the goblins and Laura, who is portrayed as an innocent. Lizzie, Laura's sister warns her not to be lured into the goblin's trap, since they were unknown and dangerous. Laura, however, succumbs to the temptation and trades a lock of her golden hair for fruit, resulting in a euphoric experience, for Laura "knew not was it night or day" (line 140). Laura, now taken by the glorious fruit, searched for the goblins, who no longer remained in the glen. While consumed by the thought of the fruit, Laura falls into a depressive stupor. Lizzie could not tolerate seeing her sister in this condition, resolved to buy the remedy for Laura: the forbidden fruit.
Laura awoke as from a dream,
Laughed in the innocent old way,
Hugged Lizzie but not twice or thrice;
Her gleaming locks showed not one thread of gray,
Her breath was sweet as May,
And light danced in her eyes.
Laura was cured; sisterly love had overcome evil, and innocence had been returned. The poem concludes as the two sisters tell their story to their children, inculcating in them that although, "Their fruits like honey to the throat,/ But poison in the blood", warning them of the realities of the world.
In a time when chastity and innocence were expected, why do you think Rossetti made this poem so highly sexualized, by describing parts of the body such as the lips and breasts and also describing actions such as squeeze, hug, and kiss?
Rossetti's "Song" shows a stark comparison to "Goblin Market" in that "Song" shows a woman distancing herself from humanity and human compassion when she tells her lover, "When I am dead, my dearest,/ Sing no sad songs for me," and in "Goblin Market" shows the prevailing virtue of sisterly love and the sacrifices involved in maintaining this love. Within what context do you think both these poems were written, and are they similar in any way?
How does Rossetti combine fantasy and reality in this poem? Would this poem be more effective had Rossetti used real characters instead of goblins as the tempters? What was Rossetti's motivation for choosing goblins specifically to tempt the innocent girl?
What is the message of this poem? Could this message have been conveyed had the poem not progressed in a linear manner? Why was it important to include the two girl's lives after marriage and having children? Could the message been conveyed without this part of the poem?
Is Goblin Market Escapist?
t is difficult to cull a satisfying thematic interpretation from Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market." Obvious themes might be "that one should be careful of temptation," or "that little girls should not talk to strange men." One might even go on to the end of the poem and decide the theme is "that sisters should love one another." These are rather trite ideas, however, and while the poem definitely supports them (and they are easily defended with quotations from the text), a more careful look at "Goblin Market" reveals that the poem is fairly complex, and able to support a more revolutionary reading than the ones put forth above. Rather than saying that "Goblin Market" has a particular theme, I would put forth the notion that it attempts to deal with certain problems Rossetti recognized within the canon of English literature, and specifically with the problem of how to construct a female hero.
There are no signifecant female heros in English literature up to the time of Rossetti. Female protagonists exist, of course, like Elizabeth in Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but they have no outlet for heroic action. They are constrained by the gender-roles into which a male-dominated society has placed them. Elizabeth must spend a good deal of her energy waiting for Darcy to take action; she herself is hobbled by the cords of decorum.
In "Goblin Market," Rossetti creates a rudimentary framework of behavior in which a female hero — a heroine — might operate. Rossetti's efforts are to some degree successful, though she fails to solve the problem completely.
Throughout the poem Lizzie remains pure; this is nothing new. The role of the unstained virgin has existed longer than the English language. Spenser's Florimell provides an early example. What is different about Lizzie is that she actively pursues temptation with the intention of conquering it. When she sees that Laura is wasting away (Norton 1514), Lizzie resolves to go and get her the fruit as a final, desperate effort to save her sister's life. When the Goblins refuse to sell her the fruit (Norton 1516) and attack Lizzie, she forbears temptation and keeps her mouth closed:
Lizzie uttered not a word;
Would not open lip from lip
Lest they should cram a mouthful in. (Norton 1517)
Eventually, she manages to save her sister by running home and asking Laura to "Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices / Squeezed from goblin fruits for you," explaining that "For your sake I have braved the glen / And had to do with goblin merchant men" (Norton 1518). Laura's cure, implemented by her sucking the juices from Lizzie's face, is somewhat baffling; the reader is left confused as to what actually cured her, the residual juices or her sister's love.
So what we are left with is this: a woman performed a heroic, self-sacrificing action (certainly related to Christ's sacrifice of himself) to save her sister. Good. However, it seems apparent that there are problems with the framework for feminine heroism constructed by Rossetti. It remains a passive kind of heroism. Lizzie does not attack the goblin men, demanding the antidote for their fruit, or weave a spell of benign magic over her sister. She is forced to offer herself up to goblin abuse (physical, sexual goblin abuse) to perform a positive action. It is possible to account for the passive nature of Lizzie's act by putting it into the context of Rossetti's Christian beliefs (Norton 1501), but that does not seem enough. The ambiguities at the end of "Goblin Market" and the almost out of place, strangely irrelevant feel of the last few lines (caused by their sanitized, formulaic tone at the end of a poem so rich in erotic and violent detail) indicate that Rossetti herself had not reached a satisfactory conclusion on the subject of female heroism.