Goblin Market: The Overly Sexualized Christian Story

Goblin Market: The Overly Sexualized Christian Story

“Did you miss me? Come and kiss me

Never mind my bruises

Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices.” (Rossetti)

This excerpt is from Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’ which she claims is a children’s fairy tail. However, when examined beyond just the surface, ‘Goblin Market’ is a poem with a much deeper meaning. Many say Rossetti’s poem portrays the story of girls and drugs. Others assume the poem is about rape and the feminine body. In actuality, ‘Goblin Market’ is Rossetti’s attempt to portray the Christian story of the fall and redemption of man albeit with a strong sexual undertone. In the Bible, the church is referred to as the bride of Christ, Rossetti uses such sexual references in order

to better enforce this idea.
As initially stated, ‘Goblin Market’ is a summarization of the fall and redemption of man.

In the poem, Laura is an allegory for man whilst Lizzie serves to represent Christ. According to the Bible, Christ and man start off being close and on speaking terms until Adam and Eve gave up their purity by consuming the forbidden fruit. The plot of the poem is parallel to that of the story of Genesis. Laura and Lizzie were both close until she was tempted by the fruit.

“’No,’ said Lizzie, ‘no, no, no;

Their offers should not charm us” (Rossetti)

Just as God warned Adam and Eve, Lizzie cautioned Laura about going close to the fruits. Laura didn’t heed her warning and ate the fruit which made her fall into sin which created a divide between the two sisters. Laura’s loss of her purity was symbolized by her using her ‘golden hair’ to buy the fruits; trading her purity for sin.

The next part of the poem shows Christ having to take on the punishment of our sins on our behalf. Lizzie approaching the goblins symbolizes Jesus taking on our sins on the cross but not becoming sinful himself.

“Lizzie uttered not a word;

Would not open lip from lip.”

(Rossetti)
The image of Laura being force fed the fruit but not ever eating it shows Jesus being surrounded by sin but never allow it to enter his body and consume him.
Some may ask- “if Rossetti really was a Christian, why does her poem have so much sexuality and erotic grammar?” Rossetti drew a lot of her ideas from the Bible. She attempted to portray the idea of the church being the ‘bride of Christ’ as stated in several books of the Bible such as the Song of Solomon. In ‘Goblin Market,’ Laura and Lizzie seem to have sexual interactions with each other but there is a reason for that. As earlier established, Laura represents man whilst Lizzie represents Christ. Rossetti was trying to show how intimate our relationship with God should be if we’re being referred to as his bride. Since this is poetry, not everything the author writes is intended to be interpreted literally. Rossetti doesn’t expect us to go up to heaven and have such interactions with God but rather she expects our relationship with God to be as intimate as that of a husband and his wife.
Rossetti drew inspiration from the Song of Solomon (also called the Song of Songs) in the bible. The Song of Solomon is a poetic book that narrates the story of a man and his wife using very sexual symbolism and imagery. The book itself has many erotic statements and suggestions. Many Bible scholars debate over what the actual intended message of this book is. However, the book is generally categorized as a love poem. Rossetti sculpted ‘Goblin Market’ after this book by creating her own poem about sexuality. Surprisingly enough, there are some lines in the ‘Goblin Market’ that sound identical to certain verses in this book.
"Let my lover come into his garden
and taste its delicious fruits." (Song of Solomon 4:16, KJV)
In the Song of Songs, the concepts of ‘fruits’ and ‘gardens’ is used to symbolise sex- just as in ‘Goblin Market.’
Some people may say that the similarities between the poem and the Christian story are merely coincidences that come about from over analyzation.

This statement cannot be true for the following reasons: First of all, Rossetti was a Christian herself and grew up in a Christian home. Her mother would read bible stories to her when she was younger. That would mean Rossetti would be very well versed in Biblical events. If Rossetti never her poem to seem too Christian like, she would have chosen her plot and word choice more carefully. Secondly, and most importantly, Rossetti uses the same symbolism and imagery used in the Bible. In the Bible, fruits are used as a metaphor for temptation as well as sex. Sounds just like ‘Goblin

Market.’
“And his fruit was sweet to my taste” (Song of Solomon 2:3, KJV)
In addition, doves in the Bible are used to symbolise hope, virginity and sometimes, a warning. At a point in the poem, Lizzie heard doves above her head just as Laura was about to eat the goblins’ fruits. This couldn’t just be a coincidence. If more convincing is needed, in the Bible, white flowers (such as the lily) are used to represent purity. In the poem, Lizzie was compared to being a lily severally because of her purity and innocence.
“Like a lily in a flood.” (Rossetti)
To conclude, Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’ is an excellent poem but not because of is impeccable structure and use of poetic devices but instead because of its perfect portrayal of the Christian story and its skilful comparison of the church as being the ‘bride of Christ.’