Summary
Summary ‘Goblin Market’ by Christina Rossetti notes
- Module
- Unit 3 - Poetry
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
Notes on ‘Goblin Market’ by Christina Rossetti , including summary and analysis.
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Goblin MarketPrevalent within the poem:
Imagery of the natural world
Fable and fairy tale
Narrative voice
Characterization
Metaphor and extended metaphor
Female sexuality
Transgression
Temptation
Redemption
Story:
Two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, hear the sounds of the goblin fruit market from their
house. At first they try to ignore the enticing calls of the goblin men, but eventually
Laura decides to go out and see what's happening. Lizzie warns her not to, but Laura
is too curious. The goblin men offer her their fruit, and Laura thinks it looks tasty.
She doesn't have any money, but the goblins offer to take a piece of her golden hair
instead. So Laura gives up some of her hair, gorges herself on goblin fruit, and heads
on home to her sister.
But after eating all that goblin fruit, Laura starts to waste away. Lizzie gets worried
and decides to go down to the market to see what's what. The goblin men try to
tempt her the way they tempted Laura, but Lizzie stands firm. The goblin men turn
violent and try to stuff fruit in Lizzie's mouth, but she squeezes her mouth shut, so
they just end up getting juice all over her. Lizzie runs back to their house all covered
in goblin fruit juice. Laura kisses the juice off her sister's cheeks and is miraculously,
but painfully, healed.
Years later, Laura and Lizzie are both wives and mothers, and they describe their
experience in the goblin market to their own children as a cautionary tale about the
importance of sisterly love.
Interpretations
A moral allegory about the dangers of giving into temptation
A parable of female resistance and solidarity
The Marxist view- the dangers of the free market economy
A protest against 19th century food-adulteration
A Christian tale of salvation
A parable of Lesbian empowerment
A fable about anorexia
, Despite this poem’s various modern and historical interpretations, Rossetti herself
stated that she ‘did not mean anything profound by this fairy-tale’.
General context
Critics have examined the life of Christina Rossetti herself, who was one of the
forerunners in the Pre-Raphaelite movement not only because she was a poet of the
time period, but also because she was a woman and a successful, published poet of
the time period- and also due to the fact that she knew the principal people involved
with the Pre-Raphaelites. Rossetti was placed among her male contemporaries as
a capable equal, and has always been included in the Pre-Raphaelite anthologies
along with them. Her brother Dante Gabriel also collaborated with her on the
illustration of the original text, it is often though that the two ‘shared an artistic
vision’.
Victorian expectations: in the early Victorian era, there were strict rules and
expectations about sexuality. Women were considered weak, innocent, and naive
with little to no sexual appetite or inclinations. In contrast, men were at fault for
incidents pertaining to indiscretion and blamed for taking advantage of the fragility
of women. Later in the Victorian era, the rules and expectations changed. Now,
women were at fault for enticing men, who were simply acting on their innate sexual
desires. One thing stayed consistent throughout the era: chastity was extremely
important. A woman’s chastity was thought to be the most important thing, and
those who were not pure and chaste were looked down upon in society.
Rossetti’s experience at Mary Magdalene: Rossetti may be choosing to explore
the notion of the fallen women due to her work as this penitentiary.
It also interesting that the poem is dedicated to Rossetti’s sister; this could link
to the relationship between Rossetti and her own sister, something which may have
inspired the theme of sisterly love prevalent throughout the poem. ‘Rossetti’s
reverence for the institution of sisterhood, I believe, derived from her love for her
own sister, Maria. From a young age, Maria exhibited a severe reverence for religion,
and Christina “thought that her sisters conduct [was] worthy of the highest respect”
(Woolf).
Rossetti’s rejection of earthly desires: Rossetti may have chosen to write a
poem which villainizes earthly temptation in exploration of her personal battle
between earthly desires and religious devotion. Her ultimate rejection of the
proposals of both Collinson and Cayley and religious grounds suggests her belief that
earthly temptation would have a negative effect on one’s life as it does for Laura in
the poem.
Though many read ‘Goblin Market’ as a children’s poem, the prevailing adult themes
of temptation suggest a more mature reading.
A common notion within Victorian literature is the ‘split-self’, represented in this
poem by Laura and Lizzie who could be argued as foils of one another.
Structure and form
The poem’s form could be described as either Narrative or allegorical.
Rossetti also arguably utilizes the Fairytale form and genre to explore issues of
power, sexuality, social roles and relationships.
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