Introduction
Simply put, Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" is the tale of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, who succumb to the temptation of tiny goblin traders who prowl the glens and forests at night, luring innocent maidens with delicious, rich, and glowing fruits that are enticing to the palate. Once a victim has tasted the goblins' fruits, she is tortured by a strong desire for another sample, which the goblins never give: a situation that Laura experiences. Lizzie exposes herself to the alluring goods of the goblins in order to avoid endangering her sister's life. So as to find the “fiery antidote” that would save her sister from the torment. Exposing herself to the goblins, they tease, maul, and taunt her (Lizzie) but amidst the turmoil, stands her ground. Eventually, she overcomes the goblins advances and with the juices smeared all over her face, rushes home to let Laura suck them off her cheeks and get healed. The taste of the fruits gratifies her cravings, and she is well again. This leads to the conclusion of the poem as a tribute to a one sister’s sacrifice to save her sister.
An Exploration of Temptation and Desires
Reading the poem, one thing sticks out: the seductive figures of temptation and desires. The poem stimulates the idea of a woman temptation and desire for a man, her sacrifice for evil, and the moral and tragedy vision in communal identity, and the spiritual love they bestow upon one another. Rossetti presents “Goblin Marker” as a poem full of action, color, life. Through the desire for her temptation, Rossetti sees her character’s destruction. By going beyond their failure and destruction, the characters are overcome their failures and attain the communal identity, the spiritual love, and the esthetic pleasure. Further, Rossetti demonstrates the contrast between female/female relationship and the female/male relationship, to suggest that through sacrifice, women’s love for one another enables them to attain their desires in life.
The Sacrifice of Sisterhood
With these presentations, the interpretation that strikes me the most is that of one sister sacrificing herself to save the other sister who fell into the temptation of sensual desires and suffers as a result. Rossetti uses imagery to define the feminine temptation and desire and to testify that sisterhood love and sacrifice helps them attain deep pleasure, spiritual love, and communal identity. The poem starts with the element of desire; Lizzie and Laura yearn to buy the luscious fruits paraded by the goblin men. The goblins cry, “Come buy our orchard fruits / Come buy, come buy (Rossetti, Christina, 3-4).” While Laura seemingly gets tempted, Lizzie is less impressed, and describes them to her with negative sentiment; calling them “little men (Rosetti, Christina, line 55).”
The Goblin Men's Deception
Rossetti sees the goblins as equal animals as they are men. She writes: “One had a cat’s face/ One whisked a tail/ one tramped at rat’s pace/ One crawled like a snail/ One like a wombat prowled obtuse and furry/ One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry.” Laura is attracted to their lovely tones, with the “a voice like the voice of doves/ Cooing altogether (Rossetti, Christina, line 71-78.” Later on, she is tormented by the effects of the fruit; Laura realizes that the goblin men are “cross-grained, Uncivil (395)” and “grunt, snarl, hiss, and snarl (402).” The goblin men seemed to have gotten what they wanted from Laura and wanted nothing more from her. As for Lizzie, the allures from the goblin men represent the fragmented self that desires to give in to the sensual pleasure. She is tempted to acquire the spiritual love for the goblin men by falling for the self-pleasure.
Lizzie's Love and Sacrifice
Lizzie desire for her sister is different from the desire between her and the goblin men. Lizzie desires to save and protect her sister’s wellbeing by love sacrifice and courage. When Laura fails to heed her advice not to look at the goblin men nor their fruits, consumes them and becomes sick, we see Lizzie going out of her way to save her from the approaching death. She decides to slip out at night and look for the goblin men and acquire the fruits that would save her sister from death. She is sexually molested by the goblins while trying to obtain the fruits antidote that her sister so needs. The poet writes, “Lashing their tails/ They trod and hustled her/ Elbowed and jostled her/ Clawed with their nails/ Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking/ (398-402)” Laura is however not moved, and ensures the violent bustles with the ultimatum that she would receive the antidote, in the end, hence preventing her sister from following Jeanie’s path.
The Contrasting Desires of Laura and Lizzie
There is a difference between Laura’s and Lizzie’s desires is that Lizzie’s desires are purely for the love of her sister, while Laura’s desire occurs with her temptation for men. Lizzie’s brave acts are a valuable lesson concerning her own capabilities, her virtues, and her serenity in the face of male sexual violence. While both Laura and Lizzie experience episodes of desire, their experiences demonstrate the contrast between the desires for male/female and the female/female relationship. These desires define their ultimate destinies: Laura falling ill, and Lizzie saving her life.
The Redemption of Female Solidarity
The temptation and feminine desire for men are deceiving and destructing in the case of Lizzie. It blinds their moral vision from the supernaturalism reality as well as the mutual identity, spiritual love, and the intimate desires. To acquire these virtues, Laura decided to have a relationship with the goblin men. She escapes the reams of supernaturalism and discovers self, therefore resisting the feminine temptation and desires for men. The selfish aspect of the feminine desire in the novel is demonstrated by Jeannie, while the communal type of desire can be described by the later marriage and family life of Laura and Lizzie. Rossetti suggests, that through self-discovery, and overcoming the temptations lying ahead of the women, the women are able to achieve spiritual and communal love.
The Power of Female Solidarity
The Goblin Market, in a way, suggests that the male/female relationship is constructed under the profane love and through bowing to the sexual desires, the woman suffers at the end. On the contrary, the female/female relationships are built under spiritual love, where females get out of their way to help their sister, mothers, and female friends overcome calamities. The love and support that one female bestows another go a long way towards their redemption. As one sister looks out for another, they mind their movement, their successes, and their failures; by offering them a hand, these sisters can get back to their feet, redeem themselves, and live a normal life. On that, Rossetti states, “\"For there is no friend like a sister."
Conclusion
In conclusion, Lizzie’s subversion in seeking in looking and trading with the goblin men is justified through her sense of sacrifice. She goes forth to set the women free from the reams of society and to confront the male-dominated society. Though fallen, Lizzie fulfills her desires. In the poem, Lizzie is not viewed as the pure sister saving the fallen woman in society, nor is she the opposite of Laure – the pure woman; rather she acts an in-between. Both sisters eventually conform to their contracted gender roles, get married and become mothers. While telling their tales, the sisters are not warning the children of the dangers of sampling forbidden fruits, rather, the importance of the sister’s love and female solidarity.
The Power of Sisterhood and Redemption
The dynamics of a women’s community have started to play a huge role in Rossetti’s life during her time working at the Highgate Women’s Penitentiary in 1859. This is a place where “fallen women” such as prostitutes could be redeemed and brought back into society as good citizens. She understood that redeeming a woman was possible and getting second chances in life was possible. However, the Victorian woman faced hidden patriarchy in her quest for redemption, the male presence. The “Goblin Market” seems like a mirror showing that sisterhood can be ruined by the male patriarchy but through the love for one another, sisters have the ability to redeem one another. The “fallen sister” through the help and sacrifice of the other sisters can be redeemed in the society of women. Evidently, the poem connects to Rossetti’s life, of interacting with people who are “down and out” and have been tormented by the male-dominated society both directly and indirectly, and as she demonstrates, love and support are all they need to be back on their feet.
Works Cited
Rossetti, Christina G. The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti. Ed. R.W. Crump and Betty S. Flowers. London: Penguin, 2001.
