Sin and Redemption: Laura and Lizzie’s Responses to Temptation in Goblin Market and What They Reveal about Christina Rossetti’s Views on Female Sexuality by Eric Shapiro
Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market is above all a commentary on the characteristics and consequences of female desire, told from the perspective of a woman from the Victorian Era. In some ways, Rossetti is a product of her time. Her sense of morality is rooted in traditional Christian conceptions of how women should behave. Hence, the text of Goblin Market is filled with Biblical references and allusions, especially pertaining to the story of Adam and Eve’s fall from paradise, told in the book of Genesis. However, this is not to say that Goblin Market merely reiterates biblical notions of female chastity or paints a picture of morality in the Victorian era. On the contrary, Rossetti offers a subversive take on female virtue, even if she never abandons the framework of contemporary morality. Goblin Market is both forward thinking and rooted in the past, a combination of progressive ideas and traditional Christian morals.
In telling the story of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, Rossetti presents two different responses to temptation, one of which is clearly morally superior to the other. Laura, on the one hand, is unable to resist the forbidden fruits that the goblin men offer her. Lizzie, on the other hand, demonstrates her strength and resilience by abstaining from the same temptation, even after being tempted by Laura. Rossetti is not at all ambiguous in her portrayal of the two characters. She clearly intends for Laura to be perceived as a cautionary figure and Lizzie as an example of virtue. Hence, it is clear that Rossetti does not advocate sexual liberation for women. In this sense, Goblin Market is consistent with the Victorian era. However, by having Laura regain her purity through sisterly love, Rossetti shows a degree of empathy for “fallen women” uncommon for a time when female sexuality outside of marriage was considered an unforgivable offense.
That being said, Rossetti clearly sympathizes with the challenge of resisting temptation. She portrays sexuality in a highly realistic fashion, as something that is immensely appealing rather than disgusting and obviously wrong. Furthermore, Laura’s redemption implies that a woman who has succumbed to sexual temptation is not necessarily doomed to a life of impurity. Despite her transgression, Laura is able to regain her purity through the love and devotion of her sister Lizzie. In failing to mete out a harsh punishment, Rossetti defies the stringent moral standards of her time.
At the onset of Goblin Market, Rossetti lists and describes in great detail the fruits that the goblins are hawking: “Bloom-down-cheeked peaches/swart-headed mulberries… pomegranates full and fine, bright-fire-like barberries” (Rossetti 1). In a similar vein, she later describes the goblins’ voices “like a voice of doves/cooing all together: they sounded kind and full of loves/In the pleasant weather” (Rossetti 3). In presenting sexual temptation and its purveyors in such flattering terms, Rossetti encourages the reader to sympathize with the formidable challenge that her protagonists face in resisting it. When Laura is unable to resist, it is difficult to judge her too harshly. By the same token, the reader is invited to stand in awe of Lizzie for her unwavering virtuousness.
Subsequently, Rossetti explains the physical sensations of “tingling cheeks and finger tips” that Laura and Lizzie experience when they glimpse the fruits the goblin men are “selling.” Clearly, the luscious fruits of the goblin men appeal to both sisters. Therefore, it stands to reason that, according to Rossetti, sexual temptation is something natural that all women must confront, as opposed to the exclusive domain of individuals who are inherently sinful. Rossetti was by all accounts a devoted Christian, but the aforementioned assertion stands in contrast to a religion that places a great deal of emphasis on purity of thought. This is significant because it reveals that, in her characterization of Lizzie and Laura, Rossetti places greater priority on the quality of their actions than on what they think and feel.
Laura and Lizzie may face the same temptation, but they respond to it much differently. Despite some initial reservations, Laura allows her curiosity to get the better of her and she allows the goblin men to occupy her attention, which serves to foreshadow her later actions. Lizzie, however, warns, “You should not peep at goblin men,” and proceeds to shield her eyes, demonstrating a restraint that eludes her sister (Rossetti 2). Once captivated, Laura sows the seeds of her defilement. Rossetti implies that the simple act of a woman giving her attention to a source of temptation is sufficient to cause her downfall. Thus, the choice that Laura and Lizzie are forced to make in this regard is the first test of their resolve.
Laura fails this first crucial test. Soon after, she buys a platter of fruit from the goblins in exchange for a lock of her golden hair, a symbol of her maidenhood. After she finishes eating, Rossetti writes, “she knew not was it night or day” (Rossetti 4). This is the first of many instances in which Rossetti uses night and day to represent purity and impurity. The fact that Laura is unable to distinguish between the two shows that she has lost the moral compass she possessed at the beginning of the poem when she said aloud, “We must not look at goblin men/we must not buy their fruits” (Rossetti 2). From this point on, Laura is consumed by her desire to taste the fruit again, which suggests that giving into lust a single time results in a moral affliction that, if left untreated, will lead to future transgressions. Lizzie, on the other hand, demonstrates in her warning to Laura that, by resisting temptation, she has retained her purity and her sense of right and wrong: “Twilight is not good for maidens” (Rossetti 4). Once again, Rossetti uses a time of day to represent the moral status of one of her protagonists in comparison to the other. It is clear, based on this device, that Laura has sacrificed her purity. That Laura’s choice to metaphorically engage in sexual acts is cast in a negative light is a testament to Goblin Market’s grounding in Christian morality.
When she observes her sister wither away into nothing, Lizzie finds the goblin men and asks to buy their fruit in the hopes that doing so will restore Laura to her former self. The goblin men unsuccessfully attempt to convince Lizzie to stay and feast with them. She politely declines, stating that, “One waits/at home alone for me” (Rossetti 11). The goblin men respond with a brutal attack, groping Lizzie’s clothes and ripping at her hair to force her to eat their fruit. In her description of the goblins’ attack, Rossetti uses language that is intended to leave the reader in awe of Lizzie’s sense of purity, comparing her to, among other things, a “fruit crowned orange-tree/white with blossoms honey-sweet/sore beset by wasp and bee” and a “royal virgin town… close beleaguered by a fleet/Mad to tug her standard down” (Rossetti 12). The goblins’ assault on Lizzie is a metaphorical equivalent of attempted rape. However, Lizzie, in contrast to her sister, refuses to give in, demonstrating a degree of temperance that befits idealized notions of Victorian womanhood. Rossetti intends for Lizzie to be seen as a model to emulate and her sister Laura as someone to pity and sympathize with. In portraying a woman who gives into sexual desire as in the wrong and a woman who resists it as someone to be admired, Rossetti is consistent with her time.
However, shortly after laying out the moral disparity between her protagonists as a result of their differing responses to temptation, Rossetti makes it clear that the status of their sisterhood is unaffected: “Golden head by golden head/Like two pigeons in one nest/Folded in each other’s wings/They lay down in their curtained bed:/Like two flakes of new-fall’n snow…/cheek to cheek and breast to breast/Locked together in one nest” (Rossetti 6). This touching portrait of sisterly affection muddies the waters of what initially appears to be a traditional Victorian tale. Even after committing the sin of lust, which by the standards of Rossetti’s time should result in permanent defilement, Laura, at least when in the loving embrace of her sister, is described as “white,” or pure. This scene implies that in spite of her terrible error, Laura can still find redemption through sisterly love.
But first, she is confronted with the consequences of her actions. Laura can think of nothing but tasting the fruit again, yet she no longer hears the goblins cry at night: “Day after day, night after night,/Laura kept watch in vain” (Rossetti 8). Deprived of sexual fulfillment, she falls into a deep depression and refuses to eat. However, Lizzie still hears the goblins calling: “She night and morning/Caught the goblins’ cry” (Rossetti 8). Laura’s inability to buy from the goblins again implies that a woman cannot re-experience the pleasure of her first sexual encounter because her defilement marks her as undesirable. Lizzie, on the other hand, is still sought after by the goblins because she remains pure.
Caught up in unrequited sexual desire, Laura falls into a deep depression, refusing to eat and neglecting her responsibilities. Rossetti talks of the two sisters tending the house, milking cows and talking “as modest maidens should”; these are all activities that her Victorian readers would have considered woman’s responsibilities. Laura’s inability to carry out and take pleasure in these tasks after eating the goblins’ fruit is another example of what Rossetti perceives as a consequence of giving in to temptation. In light of this old-fashioned view of femininity, Goblin Market is clearly not a call for female emancipation, sexual or otherwise. On the contrary, it is an affirmation of traditional gender roles reinforced by the biblical notions of chastity that Rossetti subscribes to.
Goblin Market departs from Victorian tradition not in promoting female sexuality, but by implying that it is not an unforgivable offense. When Laura returns after being attacked by the goblins, she is covered in fruit juice. By licking the juice off her sister’s body, Laura returns to how she was before buying from the goblins: “Laura awoke as if from a dream,/Laughed in the innocent old way/…her gleaming locks showed not one thread of grey” (Rossetti 15). Lizzie’s sacrifice allows Laura to regain her lost purity and innocence, touching on Goblin Market’s fundamental message, that women can find redemption through sisterly love.
Rossetti, a deeply religious woman, practiced the tolerance and empathy that she preached, devoting her time to helping “fallen women” find their way back to God. She was not a feminist in the modern sense of the word, but she understood the challenges that women faced in resisting their sexuality and did not think that they deserved to be ostracized and shunned by society for failing to do so. She wrote Goblin Market, ostensibly a children’s poem with a simple rhyme scheme and fairytale atmosphere, to present her view to the Victorian public in a palatable form. The story of Laura and Lizzie’s responses to temptation and the latter’s subsequent redemption served as a colorful allegory for a message that was grounded in the religious morals of her time, but subversive nonetheless.
In telling the story of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, Rossetti presents two different responses to temptation, one of which is clearly morally superior to the other. Laura, on the one hand, is unable to resist the forbidden fruits that the goblin men offer her. Lizzie, on the other hand, demonstrates her strength and resilience by abstaining from the same temptation, even after being tempted by Laura. Rossetti is not at all ambiguous in her portrayal of the two characters. She clearly intends for Laura to be perceived as a cautionary figure and Lizzie as an example of virtue. Hence, it is clear that Rossetti does not advocate sexual liberation for women. In this sense, Goblin Market is consistent with the Victorian era. However, by having Laura regain her purity through sisterly love, Rossetti shows a degree of empathy for “fallen women” uncommon for a time when female sexuality outside of marriage was considered an unforgivable offense.
That being said, Rossetti clearly sympathizes with the challenge of resisting temptation. She portrays sexuality in a highly realistic fashion, as something that is immensely appealing rather than disgusting and obviously wrong. Furthermore, Laura’s redemption implies that a woman who has succumbed to sexual temptation is not necessarily doomed to a life of impurity. Despite her transgression, Laura is able to regain her purity through the love and devotion of her sister Lizzie. In failing to mete out a harsh punishment, Rossetti defies the stringent moral standards of her time.
At the onset of Goblin Market, Rossetti lists and describes in great detail the fruits that the goblins are hawking: “Bloom-down-cheeked peaches/swart-headed mulberries… pomegranates full and fine, bright-fire-like barberries” (Rossetti 1). In a similar vein, she later describes the goblins’ voices “like a voice of doves/cooing all together: they sounded kind and full of loves/In the pleasant weather” (Rossetti 3). In presenting sexual temptation and its purveyors in such flattering terms, Rossetti encourages the reader to sympathize with the formidable challenge that her protagonists face in resisting it. When Laura is unable to resist, it is difficult to judge her too harshly. By the same token, the reader is invited to stand in awe of Lizzie for her unwavering virtuousness.
Subsequently, Rossetti explains the physical sensations of “tingling cheeks and finger tips” that Laura and Lizzie experience when they glimpse the fruits the goblin men are “selling.” Clearly, the luscious fruits of the goblin men appeal to both sisters. Therefore, it stands to reason that, according to Rossetti, sexual temptation is something natural that all women must confront, as opposed to the exclusive domain of individuals who are inherently sinful. Rossetti was by all accounts a devoted Christian, but the aforementioned assertion stands in contrast to a religion that places a great deal of emphasis on purity of thought. This is significant because it reveals that, in her characterization of Lizzie and Laura, Rossetti places greater priority on the quality of their actions than on what they think and feel.
Laura and Lizzie may face the same temptation, but they respond to it much differently. Despite some initial reservations, Laura allows her curiosity to get the better of her and she allows the goblin men to occupy her attention, which serves to foreshadow her later actions. Lizzie, however, warns, “You should not peep at goblin men,” and proceeds to shield her eyes, demonstrating a restraint that eludes her sister (Rossetti 2). Once captivated, Laura sows the seeds of her defilement. Rossetti implies that the simple act of a woman giving her attention to a source of temptation is sufficient to cause her downfall. Thus, the choice that Laura and Lizzie are forced to make in this regard is the first test of their resolve.
Laura fails this first crucial test. Soon after, she buys a platter of fruit from the goblins in exchange for a lock of her golden hair, a symbol of her maidenhood. After she finishes eating, Rossetti writes, “she knew not was it night or day” (Rossetti 4). This is the first of many instances in which Rossetti uses night and day to represent purity and impurity. The fact that Laura is unable to distinguish between the two shows that she has lost the moral compass she possessed at the beginning of the poem when she said aloud, “We must not look at goblin men/we must not buy their fruits” (Rossetti 2). From this point on, Laura is consumed by her desire to taste the fruit again, which suggests that giving into lust a single time results in a moral affliction that, if left untreated, will lead to future transgressions. Lizzie, on the other hand, demonstrates in her warning to Laura that, by resisting temptation, she has retained her purity and her sense of right and wrong: “Twilight is not good for maidens” (Rossetti 4). Once again, Rossetti uses a time of day to represent the moral status of one of her protagonists in comparison to the other. It is clear, based on this device, that Laura has sacrificed her purity. That Laura’s choice to metaphorically engage in sexual acts is cast in a negative light is a testament to Goblin Market’s grounding in Christian morality.
When she observes her sister wither away into nothing, Lizzie finds the goblin men and asks to buy their fruit in the hopes that doing so will restore Laura to her former self. The goblin men unsuccessfully attempt to convince Lizzie to stay and feast with them. She politely declines, stating that, “One waits/at home alone for me” (Rossetti 11). The goblin men respond with a brutal attack, groping Lizzie’s clothes and ripping at her hair to force her to eat their fruit. In her description of the goblins’ attack, Rossetti uses language that is intended to leave the reader in awe of Lizzie’s sense of purity, comparing her to, among other things, a “fruit crowned orange-tree/white with blossoms honey-sweet/sore beset by wasp and bee” and a “royal virgin town… close beleaguered by a fleet/Mad to tug her standard down” (Rossetti 12). The goblins’ assault on Lizzie is a metaphorical equivalent of attempted rape. However, Lizzie, in contrast to her sister, refuses to give in, demonstrating a degree of temperance that befits idealized notions of Victorian womanhood. Rossetti intends for Lizzie to be seen as a model to emulate and her sister Laura as someone to pity and sympathize with. In portraying a woman who gives into sexual desire as in the wrong and a woman who resists it as someone to be admired, Rossetti is consistent with her time.
However, shortly after laying out the moral disparity between her protagonists as a result of their differing responses to temptation, Rossetti makes it clear that the status of their sisterhood is unaffected: “Golden head by golden head/Like two pigeons in one nest/Folded in each other’s wings/They lay down in their curtained bed:/Like two flakes of new-fall’n snow…/cheek to cheek and breast to breast/Locked together in one nest” (Rossetti 6). This touching portrait of sisterly affection muddies the waters of what initially appears to be a traditional Victorian tale. Even after committing the sin of lust, which by the standards of Rossetti’s time should result in permanent defilement, Laura, at least when in the loving embrace of her sister, is described as “white,” or pure. This scene implies that in spite of her terrible error, Laura can still find redemption through sisterly love.
But first, she is confronted with the consequences of her actions. Laura can think of nothing but tasting the fruit again, yet she no longer hears the goblins cry at night: “Day after day, night after night,/Laura kept watch in vain” (Rossetti 8). Deprived of sexual fulfillment, she falls into a deep depression and refuses to eat. However, Lizzie still hears the goblins calling: “She night and morning/Caught the goblins’ cry” (Rossetti 8). Laura’s inability to buy from the goblins again implies that a woman cannot re-experience the pleasure of her first sexual encounter because her defilement marks her as undesirable. Lizzie, on the other hand, is still sought after by the goblins because she remains pure.
Caught up in unrequited sexual desire, Laura falls into a deep depression, refusing to eat and neglecting her responsibilities. Rossetti talks of the two sisters tending the house, milking cows and talking “as modest maidens should”; these are all activities that her Victorian readers would have considered woman’s responsibilities. Laura’s inability to carry out and take pleasure in these tasks after eating the goblins’ fruit is another example of what Rossetti perceives as a consequence of giving in to temptation. In light of this old-fashioned view of femininity, Goblin Market is clearly not a call for female emancipation, sexual or otherwise. On the contrary, it is an affirmation of traditional gender roles reinforced by the biblical notions of chastity that Rossetti subscribes to.
Goblin Market departs from Victorian tradition not in promoting female sexuality, but by implying that it is not an unforgivable offense. When Laura returns after being attacked by the goblins, she is covered in fruit juice. By licking the juice off her sister’s body, Laura returns to how she was before buying from the goblins: “Laura awoke as if from a dream,/Laughed in the innocent old way/…her gleaming locks showed not one thread of grey” (Rossetti 15). Lizzie’s sacrifice allows Laura to regain her lost purity and innocence, touching on Goblin Market’s fundamental message, that women can find redemption through sisterly love.
Rossetti, a deeply religious woman, practiced the tolerance and empathy that she preached, devoting her time to helping “fallen women” find their way back to God. She was not a feminist in the modern sense of the word, but she understood the challenges that women faced in resisting their sexuality and did not think that they deserved to be ostracized and shunned by society for failing to do so. She wrote Goblin Market, ostensibly a children’s poem with a simple rhyme scheme and fairytale atmosphere, to present her view to the Victorian public in a palatable form. The story of Laura and Lizzie’s responses to temptation and the latter’s subsequent redemption served as a colorful allegory for a message that was grounded in the religious morals of her time, but subversive nonetheless.