Blog Entry 2.1 Christina Rossetti and her colorful literature. Revised
Christina Rossetti was born in London on December 5, 1830. Her father came to London after he was exiled from Italy and her mother was Italian British. Rossetti is considered one of the most important British female poets, since her poems were creative and popular. Her original and creative writing was inspired by her family background. When she was younger, many Italian politicians and writers came to her home to speak to her father, who was also a poet. Christina’s mother led her to live her life as a devoted Anglo-catholic. In addition, her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was also a remarkable painter and poet. She was engaged to a man, but the marriage was cancelled because the man converted to a Roman Catholocism. Afterwards, she decided to remain single all her life and lived with her mother. She helped her mother, taking care of the household, seeking solace in religion, and devoting herself to writing poems. “Goblin Market” was published in 1862 and her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, illustrated some pictures for the poem. English online explains "because goblins sound as if they belong in a fairy story, it is often put in collections for young children.” However, since the poem can be interpreted in several ways, it is also considered to be a poem for adults.
The plot of “Goblin Market” describes the tale of two siblings, Laura and Lizzie. They hear goblins’ tempting them every day. Lizzie warns Laura not to listen to the goblins, but Laura ends up buying some fruit from the goblins with a lock of her golden hair and a tear. After eating the fruit, she becomes more ravenous for the fruits, but she notices that she cannot hear the goblin voices any longer. Due to her desire for the fruits, Laura becomes weakened. Her sister, Lizzie, goes to meet the goblins in order to buy some fruits for Laura with a silver penny. The goblins ask Lizzie to taste their fruit, but Lizzie turns the goblins down. So the goblins beat her up and force her to eat the fruit. Lizzie was able to escape from the goblins and comes back home getting her clothes wet with goblin fruit. Laura licks the juice off of Lizzie’s clothes, but that night Laura suffers from severe pain. Lizzie takes care of her sister, Laura, all night. Then, next Laura gets better in the end. In several years, they both become mothers and tell their children about the story.
First of all, Rossetti used the assorted fruit to show how sweet and how irresistible the goblins’ fruit could be to humans (lines 5-14). The fruit can also be considered as “the pleasures of the world (English Online).” In terms of pleasure, the fruits suggest physical desire between the goblins and Laura. Laura gave her golden lock(line 126) of her and a tear(line 127), which portray an image of virginity to the goblins, who symbolize a male. There is a character, Jeanie(line 147), whose story serves as a subplot, and gives readers some idea of what will happen if Laura eats the goblins’ fruit. Lizzie might be a reflection of Rossetti, the poet. Rossetti sacrificed her life to take care of her mother and aunts throughout her life. According to the poem, “for the first time in her life /began to listen and look(line 327-328).” This shows that both Rossetti, who pursued a life of faith, and Lizzie tried to avoid anything evil, such as goblins or situations which compromised their values.
It is also important to look at the poem from a historical and commercial point of view. Goblins sell products and Laura pays for them. Lizzie uses money to buy the products. Enotes.com indicates that “such elements of the poem have been examined as statements about capitalism and the Victorian economy, as an exploration of the role of women within the economy and society, and, more specifically, as a discussion of the place of female literature within the economy.” The important role of women in the economy and society is the result of the Industrial Revolution, which was from the 18th to the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution allowed females to work in factories and have more chance to participate in society. Even if Rossetti barely had any social activities, she must have noticed that women’s status in society had been raised. Lizzie may have served as an image of Christ “who sacrifices herself to save her sister (Enotes).”
The poem can be considered to be just a fairly tale, that delivers a lesson which says that it is not a good idea to listen to strangers, and that you are likely to fall into a trap. As mentioned above, however, “Goblin Market” suggests several values such as sisterly affection, capitalism, and religious background. Fraternal love or religious allegories can be found in many literary works, but it is interesting that this poem indicates this period of time in terms of business. Rossetti tried to live in peace, helping with the household and taking care of her mother, but since she lived in a transitional time, the era seemed to affect her literature. It is very interesting that a poem can be interpreted in several ways. Rossetti seemed to live a peaceful and quiet life, but her literature looks very colorful and interesting.
< Works cited >
http://www.englishonline.co.uk/freesite_tour/resource/literature/rossetti.html
http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/goblin-market-christina-georgina-rossetti
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/rossettibio.html
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