With reference to the critical anthology, discuss how Christina Rossetti explores
feminism with ‘Goblin Market’.
Throughout literature, women have often been portrayed as vulnerable in contrast to
their male counterparts and there is a common negative stereotype in literature that
women are helpless in the characters they play, Feminist Critics found a lot of the
time women are portrayed as immoral or cute but essentially helpless. Christina
Rossetti’s poetry explores the position of women in Victorian society, especially in
“Goblin Market.”
This epic poem tells the story of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, and the daily
temptation they face in the form of goblins who sell fruit near the brook where they
collect water. Though a children’s book, the poem itself is very sexual in nature, with
adult themes and evocative imagery abounds; although it is supposedly an innocent
nursery rhyme these elements suggest otherwise.​ ​The goblins serve to entice the
two sisters to come and buy their orchard fruits; they call out to the women, tempting
them with descriptions of “Come buy, come buy.”​ ​There is this idea of a patriarchal
and capitalist world hidden behind the poem, we could imply that men hold a lot of
power against women and women must try and resist.
The relationship between Lizzie and Laura and their independence together is of
great importance when considering Goblin Market as a feminist text. They are
described by Rossetti as living ‘alone’ in terms of without men, and the love between
them is strong. Rossetti manages to illustrate a closeness beyond other human
relationships and highlights their importance as women in the opening of the poem.
“Morning and evening, Maids heard the goblins cry.” This suggests that Lizzie, Laura
and the other maids are aware of something that the men can’t hear and the men
are led by their sexual desires, so they aren’t aware of what’s going on around them.
It could also suggest how men are unaware of women’s struggles as, in Victorian
times, society was incredibly patriarchal.
Rossetti illustrates a tenderness between them through the rhyming couplet “lie
close, Laura said/ pricking up her golden head.” This is challenged through their
fearlessness, however. For example when Lizzie stood amongst the goblin attack
“like a lily in a flood” this simile represents her innocence among the goblins but also
how she is willing to do this for Laura’s sake. Again showing their strong bond and
bravery against the antagonists, which would have been very uncommon in the
patriarchal Victorian Society for women to stand up against men, therefore Rosetti is
highlighting feminism through the promotion of female heroism in the poem.
Goblin market can also be seen highly as a Christian allegory due to the themes of
temptation and the relation to the garden of Eden with the fruit references. And this is
significant while looking at the poem as a feminist text as in the Garden of Eden it
entails the story of Eve eating the forbidden fruit who then tricked and tempted Adam
to do the same, consequently leading to the downfall of man. In this case, however,
it is men that are tempting women with the fruit, in the story of Garden of Eden it
subverts. The goblin fruit could possibly signify the forbidden fruit of the Garden of
Eden as it tempts both Lizzie and Eve. Rossetti also creates Lizzie as a christ-like
figure by using religious imagery and allegory. From the beginning of the poem, she
is shown as extremely more mature and wiser than her sister, Laura, “Laura, Laura
you should not peep at the goblin men.” advising her not to put herself in danger by
looking at the goblin men.
Another way in which feminism is explored is through the religious imagery in
presenting the character of Lizzie and her relation to Christ. The main reason why
Lizzie is allegorical to the figure of Christ is the fact that she makes a huge sacrifice
for her sister in order to save her life. Lizzie is pictured as the saviour who recovers
her ill sister and protects her from death that would have resulted from her
powerlessness to resist the goblin men’s attracting fruit. Lizzie attempts to meet the
goblin men one night in order to buy some of their fruit for her sister, Laura, who was
struggling physically and emotionally after eating the goblin fruit. The goblin men
treat Lizzie with violence and forcefulness “Tore her gown and soil’d her stocking,
Twitch’d her hair out by the roots, Stamp’d upon her tender feet, Held her hands and
squeez’d their fruits Against her mouth to make her eat”. Lizzie, as Jesus Christ,
tolerates the pain and harsh treatment from these men, just for the sake of her
sister’s life. Lizzie tells Laura “Eat me, drink me, love me”; Laura literally eats and
drinks of Lizzie’s body, which is intensely similar to the Eucharist when Christ said to
eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. Laura’s salvation has been accomplished
through the consumption of Lizzie’s body, much allegorical to the Holy Communion.
Thus, Rossetti’s long narrative “The Goblin Men” can certainly serve as an
allegorical symbol to some religious views and themes for it draws various
connections to Christianity.
Kate Millett showed that in the literature “the attitude of male characters towards
women was not so emancipated at all: most of the male characters that she
examined were denigrating, exploitative, and repressive in their relations with
women.” this statement links well in relation to goblin market, as the goblins
represent something very menacing especially due to how they treat the Lizzie and
laura.
Within Goblin Market, Laura and Lizzie become dependable upon the goblins for
their fruit and we could argue it symbolises the reality of the time it was written (19th
century). As in Victorian society, getting married was the only significant point in a
woman’s life, they often relied on men for income and there was an inescapable
dependence on men.
In Goblin Market, Laura trades her hair in return for the goblins’ fruit, we could argue
that her hair symbolises purity and health as in the 19th-century hair had a lot of
value and significance. “I have no coin”.
In conclusion, Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market represents the female gender as
something to be celebrated rather than pushed aside.