Christina Rossetti was born in
London on December 5
th 1830. She comes from a family of poets; her father and brother were both poets. Rossetti's first poems were written in 1842 and were printed by her grandfather. In 1850, under the pseudonym Ellen Alleyne, she contributed seven poems to the journal
The Germ, which had been founded by her brother William Michael and his friends.
Goblin market is a story about two sisters, forbidden fruits and the goblin men. Sisters lived together in the house and have to leave every day to get the water from the stream. One day while going to stream they heard goblin men calling on them to buy fruit. Laura was very tempted to try the fruit and stayed behind her sister and went to goblin men. She did not have the money but she offered lock of hair and “a tear more rare than a pearl”. After eating the fruit and picking out one of the seeds she went home. Her sister Lizzie told her the story about Jeanie who also eat the fruit from goblin men and died within the year. The next day while working around the house Laura was longing for the evening and meeting with goblin men, but when the time came she no longer could hear the goblin men’s cry but Lizzie still did. Laura could not buy the fruit and fell into depression. When winter came Laura stopped her house work altogether. She remembers that she had a seed and when she plants it nothing happens which brings her even more harm. Lizzie decides to go to buy some fruit in hope it will help Laura who was dying. She got the silver penny and was greeted very friendly by goblins. After goblins realize that she wants to pay only with money and take fruits with her, they turn very hostile and start kicking and beating her and try to make her eat the fruit, but she refuses and they drench her in fruit pulp and juice. She escapes the goblins and returns home to her sister. Laura eats pulp and juice from her sister and the next morning she recovers and they live happily ever after.
Symbolism
Apples, lemons, figs, oranges, dates, melons- fruit can symbolize many things like forbidden fruit and temptation, it certainly has sexual connotation. It looks to me that all these different fruits represent different types of men and woman who are out there, hence the “all ripe together”-line 15, or “taste them and try”-line 25.
Cat’s face, whisked a tail, rat’s pace, crawled like a snail, wombat prowled obtuse and furry, a ratel tumbled hurry-scurry - these repetitive symbols must represent the some of the men qualities.
“She clipped a precious golden lock,
She dropped a tear more rare than pearl,”- because she has no money but she has to pay, she offers her virginity to the goblin men. I thing the clipping of the “golden lock” means losing virginity.
“They lay down, in their curtained bed:
Like two blossoms on one stem,
Like two flakes of new-fallen snow,
Like two wands of ivory…”-this probably represents the love of two people and how close they are or maybe were in one time but are not anymore.
"Come buy, come buy," – constant repeating represents constant temptations and struggle in girl’s mind.
“Racing, whisking, tumbling, hobbling;”- also represents those qualities of men that could be tempting for women.
“One day remembering her kernel-stone”-this means that Laura remembers what she lost and suffers.
Archetypes
Goblin men- represent every type of evil doer; here concretely they offer forbidden fruit. They are the bad guys in the story that offer temptations.
Laura- represents typical good girl, like princess or Eva who was weak character and could not resist the temptation, so she went for it, in this case probably fell in love and got hurt.
Lizzie- represents smart character, one who likes to use brain over hurt and is always ready to jeopardize its own safety in order to save the loved one.
This poem is about love, temptations and loss. There is ongoing conflict between temptation to fall in love again and risk of being hurt and staying clear from men. It’s a story that many women can relate to, so poet is trying to warn them not to repeat the mistake that she and many women before her made. Resist and you shall be saved.