A Feminist Reading of Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market

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Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market instigates significant controversy and dispute in many of its critics and readers, despite its deceptively simple form. As such, many individuals have proposed theories regarding the poem's convoluted meanings and challenging messages. However the presence of the apparent sexual references and innuendoes presented in the poem inspire much of the disagreement surrounding Rossetti’s intentions. Nevertheless, Christina Rossetti's canonical poem continues to fascinate and enchant its readers due to insightful evaluation of Victorian female sexual ideologies and expectations. Often seen as a didactic fairytale, the controversial poem can, more importantly, be perceived as a provocative feminist text which explores deviant sexuality and female desire in the Victorian age, with an unusual but seamless metaphor that offers powerful implications. As a result, Rossetti addresses feminine sensuality and desire by concealing her controversial lessons through an acceptable format--seductively exposing the values of the Victorian culture. Consequently, within its vivid images and themes, Rossetti offers a revolutionary perspective which defies these confinements, as she romantically critiques the conventions and expectations of society through a narrative of forbidden female sexuality and independence. In the writing of Goblin Market, in order to address and communicate these strict and dissatisfying societal restrictions, Christina Rossetti references the traditional allegory of forbidden fruit and desire expressed in the biblical tale of the Fall. Through these classic religious stories, she cleverly challenges the patriarchal perceptions of women within the Victorian culture, focusing specifically on women... ... middle of paper ... ...The Achievement of Christina Rossetti. Ed. David Kent. New York: Cornell University Press, 1987. 175-191. Davis, R. W. “Aristocratic Women and Political Society in Victorian Britain.” Victorian Studies, 43.1 (2000) 181-183. Web. 21 Nov. 2013 Escobar, Kirsten E. "Female Saint, Female Prodigal: Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market'." Religion & The Arts 5.1/2 (2001): 129. Humanities International Complete. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Garlick, Barbara. "The Frozen Fountain: Christina Rossetti, the Virgin Model, and Youthful Pre-Raphaelitism." Virginal Sexuality and Textuality in Victorian Literature. Ed. Lloyd Davis. Albany: State U of New York P, 1993. 105-27 Marsh, Jan. "Christina Rossetti's Vocation: The Importance of 'Goblin Market." Victorian Poetry 32 (1994): 233-48. Parker, Christopher, ed. “Gender Roles and Sexuality in Victorian Literature.” England: Scolar Press, 1995.

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