The Potential Of Sisterhood: Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market

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Recommended: Sexuality in literature

Through our discussions in class, we determined that the sexualized reading of “Goblin Market” was not the intended message of the author. Meanwhile, several secondary sources address the inherent sexual language in the description of the goblin men and their “Bloom-down-cheeked peaches.” (Rossetti p.1466, 9) This spectrum of interpretations on the sexualisation of the text speaks to the imagery that is used by the author to express the magnetism of the goblin men to the sisters Lizzie and Laura. The two sisters, as Janet Casey puts in her article “The Potential of Sisterhood: Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market”, serve simultaneously as Christ figure and a representative of Eve in the Garden of Eden. This establishes a dichotomy of the agency …show more content…

This loss leads Lizzie to “thrust a dimpled finger / In each ear, shut [her] eyes and r[un]” (Rossetti p.1467, 68-69) from the possibility of danger posed by these sinister little creatures. This paranoia as a result of the dangers in straying from the societal norm reflects the shaming that women are subject to when they make choices for themselves that deviate from societal expectations. The fear of being on the receiving end of such scorn and causes her to flee the very presence of such elements; “Dear, you should not stay so late, / Twilight is not good for maidens;/ Should not loiter in the glen / In the haunts of goblin men” (Rossetti p.1468, 143-146). When forced to choose between her own fears about the beasts in the market and the wellbeing, however, she selflessly shirks her own reservations in order to improve upon the lot of her fading sibling; only once the corruption spreads to the one she holds most dear in her life does she dare to open her eyes and ears and forge her own path through the darkness. In doing, so she dares to stray from the straight and narrow in solidarity for the state of her sister. This effort speaks to the growth of feminism in society out of a desire to improve the lot in life of those women who find themselves less fortunate, whether due to circumstance or choice. In choosing to defy the goblin men and asserting her free will over the desires of the shady salesmen, the sweetness of their words quickly fades as they realize that their machinations will not be able to penetrate through her stalwart defenses. Instead, in resorting to violence to reassert their dominance, the nature of societal repression on the agency of women is exposed; should a woman be so bold as to challenge their predominance, she must be shown the error of her ways.

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