The Rossetti’s Forbidden Desires
Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” exposes the ideas and looks placed on women while also combining shocking concepts for that time. Within the poem the reader will clearly see the sexual tones being used throughout this piece when discussing the fruit and sister’s actions. With the ‘stronger’ sister being able to resist the temptation and bring back juice on herself for her sister, “hug me, kiss me, suck my juices / squeezed from the goblin fruits for you” (Rossetti), which has the female and female sexual undertone that wasn’t properly known during the time it was published. Could this poem been taken seriously?
The use of fruits is one feature which stands out to me because of the Adam and Eve biblical story of the apple –the forbidden fruit, or in this case fruits. In both a young woman is seduced to eat the fruits and has evil, snake, or goblins entice them. It’s a standard good versus evil plot. The matching ideas create a more complex meaning for the readers to dissect. The fruit can become a symbol for virginity which is then stolen by the ‘men’ goblins from the market. Through tasting their fruit, you can no longer hear their calls which plays into the tones of men only interested in corrupting the innocent women. This idea of innocence and betrayal is overcome by the women’s strength to beat the goblins when we discover the ending. Through the help of another woman, who happens to be her sister, she is cured of her madness.
Another Rossetti, Dante’s “Jenny” has similar ‘fallen woman’ aspects compared to his sisters. “Jenny” portrays a man who is having a discussion with himself while a woman prostitute sleeps on his lap. His ideas illustrate him as making himself seem an intellectual while she is lower than him and is compared to an object that he is studying. In both of these poems we see a gender divide of males being put in a higher position whether it is seducing in “Goblin market” or judging in “Jenny.” In Dante Rossetti’s piece the man seems to not help his claims in the sense that he is there visiting the girl while discussing the bad outlooks on prostitution. He doesn’t take in account his own actions. While in Christina Rossetti’s she has the men as goblin creatures and in no way good or nice light. Both of these pieces have one-sided outlooks with portraying men in a not so great light. Is there merit to this or does it make the poem lose value?
In all, both of these pieces take the unspoken and produce them for everyone to see whether they understand it or simply read them for enjoyment. In the end, I suppose both authors successfully conveyed their messages for readers far in the future to enjoy and study. The gender stereotypes exposed and discussed throughout the works are still brought up in today’s society for debate. Even with huge movements along with these ideas such as women’s freedom of sexuality. We can only continue to look forward to see whether this seemingly never ending debate ends.
Works Cited:
Rossetti, Christina. “Goblin Market.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Fourth ed. Vol. 2B. New York: Pearson, 2010. 1650-663. Print.
Rossetti, Dante. “Jenny.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Fourth ed. Vol. 2B. New York: Pearson, 2010. 1623-632. Print.
I really like the ways in which you explored the gender stereotypes and aspect of Christianity. I think you were onto something in the following statement, “This idea of innocence and betrayal is overcome by the women’s strength to beat the goblins when we discover the ending. Through the help of another woman, who happens to be her sister, she is cured of her madness,” which made me then further explore the connection between Lizzie and Jesus, because self-sacrifice of the innocent is deemed as necessary in order for redemption for those who are guilty. The fact that the one making this sacrifice in “The Goblin’s Market” happens to be a female is Rossetti’s method to engage a form of female holiness. There are also feminine connection shared between the fruit and text, since “like the ‘other fruit of empire,’ women’s bodies were vended in the streets surrounding the churches and zealous church women like Rossetti went out to ‘buy them back” (Carpenter, 417).
Carpenter, Mary Wilson. “‘Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me’: The Consumable Female Body in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market.’” Victorian Poetry, vol. 29, no. 4, 1991, pp. 415–434., http://www.jstor.org/stable/40003006.
This poem definitely has an R-rated feeling to it that probably that makes it hard to figure out if the poem was supposed to have this underlying message or if it was just chance. I, personally, lean towards the former just because it is used throughout the entire text. It is interesting how you compare this text to Adam and Eve because it makes a lot of sense and I am beating myself up for it for not catching it. I think that would be a really interesting theme to really dig deep into for this poem. To answer your question in the third paragraph, I’m sure at the time and if you think about the time period, there is merit to this poem. Women didn’t have a lot of value and were really only seen as keepers of the house.
What are your thoughts on the female sensual undertones in both “Goblin’s Market” and “Jenny?” C. Rossetti and D. Rossetti force readers to question the feminine sexuality, which is still a taboo in contemporary society. In “Goblin’s Market,” the tension is between two sisters, representing that sisterhood has the ability to rehabilitate. Yet, why is it constantly perceived in a sexual manner? In “Jenny,” the women represents sexual desire while the male narrator represents the intellectualized experience. The reader is moved to sympathize with the prostitute because by embracing her sexuality, she has situated herself into the category of a “fallen women” – unable to control her desires because her mind is divided from her body. Both poems criticize the problem of regulating a woman’s sexual identity and interpret different ways in which women are punished for entertaining their wants.
i found your post about the ” Goblin Market” to be interesting on how you viewed the story. I think this story incorporates two deadly transgressions: temptation and desire. While Laura turned her back to this deadly fruit, Lizzie is manipulated into this fruit and is soon hooked! I can understand the view on this fruit symbolizing virginity and innocence as you stated. Since the ladies are young and taken advantage of by these goblins. There is a sexual sense in this story with Lizzie having to give part of her body up, ” Buy from us with a golden curl” to get the fruit back to her sister. As well as when she returns back to Lizzie and it is described as ” Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices” Laura says to Lizzie to fulfill herself. To answer you question: Victorian society of that time period was one sided as well, but in a contrasting way. Society belittled women’s opinions and positions on these topics.
*************** NEW POST- I couldn’t figure out how to edit a post and had a total brain freeze and confused myself with this mixed up names.
I found your post about the ” Goblin Market” to be interesting on how you viewed the story. I think this story incorporates two deadly transgressions: temptation and desire. While Lizzie turned her back to this deadly fruit, Laura is manipulated into this fruit and is soon hooked! I can understand the view on this fruit symbolizing virginity and innocence as you stated. Since the ladies are young and taken advantage of by these goblins. There is a sexual sense in this story with Laura having to give part of her body up, ” Buy from us with a golden curl” to get the fruit since she has no coin. Lizzie returns back to Laura and it is described as ” Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices” Lizzie says to Laura to fulfill herself. To answer you question: Victorian society of that time period was one sided as well, but in a contrasting way. Society belittled women’s opinions and positions on these topics.
Christy, first of all, shout out to you for being the only meme-less extra creditor, ha-ha. Second, great post, I especially love the holistic big feel you bring in at the end, it sticks strongly with the reader, which is important. I really like your comparisons to Jenny, and what both of the poems say about men and gender stereotypes, which was something I hadn’t considered too deeply before. Your questions are well-thought out and made me think, as did the whole thesis of this short-but-powerful post. Great job!