Christina Rossetti's
Goblin Market is an interesting poem to say the least.
The way the Lizzie
and Laura are first presented suggests to the reader that they are the most innocent
of girls, who are very pure and precious. However the more the poem progresses, the more it
begins to appear to me, that in fact the sisters may not be so
innocent, particularly Laura. Who's curiosity leads her from her sisters word
of warning and tempts her to approach the goblins 'market'. I find it
interesting that she is still intrigued even though she has already been warned
by Lizzie that 'Their offers should not charm us, Their evil gifts would harm us'.
It interests me that Laura is not even alarmed
when they don’t turn her away for having no money but ask for some of her hair!
All of these events in the poem lead me to believe that Laura may be younger
than Lizzie. I feel this is reinforced when Laura returns having eaten the fruit
and is told off by Lizzie in a stern and motherly manor.
I am also intrigued by
Lizzie’s behaviour after telling Laura off. Lizzie pretty much lets the matter
go, even though Laura persists to tell Lizzie that she will return tomorrow to
get more fruit for herself and Lizzie. It strikes me as odd that Lizzie has no
resistance or reaction to this even though she knows the dangers. Is this because Lizzie is intrigued herself? or does she know that Laura is in a trap now?
I find it even more odd that Laura ate the fruit in the first place even though she has clear understanding about what happened to 'Jeanie', it just strikes me as mindless. What is it about the
fruit that is so overwhelming to tempt the girls? and draw them into something, which is clearly wrong?
The goblins
are obviously evil, Chrisina Rossetti even tells us so. What on earth about the goblins draws people in? They are certainly not attractive
or in any way nice and the fact that we never really know why girls are drawn into
them, makes them even more suspicious. We know their fruit looks
delicious and they call ‘come buy, come buy’ but surely all of this would be deterred
by their ghastly appearance?
Lizzie’s
maturity and purity is further shown when she seeks the goblins herself in order
to ‘save’ and protect her sister from addiction
of the fruit. Laura is no longer pure neither precious and can therefore no longer
seek the goblins. Lizzie however seems to be as pure as any girl could possibly
be, she is sensible, 'golden' and has resisted the goblins numerous times,when
her reckless sister didn’t.
This seems
to only make things more difficult for Lizzie. The goblins seem to have anincreased desperation because of their wait and this causes them to almost beg. Unfortunately
for Lizzie her polite refusal is not enough to reduce their desperation and the
goblins become increasingly violent and a brutal and horrific assault follows. Lizzies resistance proves strong and she is still considered pure after a brutal assult. It woud now seem a girl is only inpure if she gives in.
The assult Lizzie encounters begins to make me question if this should really be labelled a ‘children’s
story’ surely a brutal assault is not something you wish for your child to read
about. Not only is it brutal it is rather graphic and suggestive of rape. I think the
underlying moral message of the poem is extremely valid and useful as a message
for children to learn from. However in my opinion some of the poem is rather unsuitable for a child’s
eyes.
Christina Rossetti’s intentions of goblin market being a childrens story/poem could be very different
than many interpret. I agree that, what the writer says their work is, is what it should be taken as. However in this day and age I doubt many would agree with this being a childrens story/poem due to vast change in society, from Christina Rossetti's lifetime to now.
