Blog Post 2.1 - Goblin Market

"Goblin Market"

 To begin with, Christina Rossetti is one of the most profound English poets. She was born in 1830’s and from her family accounts I found out that she was more close to her mother and was self aware about her beauty which made her a narcissist. Most of the ancient poets base their stories between love and hate. It is correct to say that most poems reflect the personal experiences of the author which is practical about the Goblin Market. I think that the author is obsessed with female sexuality and feminist heroism. In other words, women can have it all by themselves without the help of any man. Furthermore, her love expression in the poem, "Goblin Market" is an illustration and comparison between men and women. In a way, all men seem to be evil or losers and all women are beautiful and heroic. In retrospect, we can attain from her real life account that she has a grudge with the belief that men are the perfect solace for every woman’s craving. Despite of this, Christina inherited her artistic success from her father and her brother Dante, who greatly inspired her with his art of drawing yet she still expresses ugly feelings about men in most of her poems. Perhaps, the grief was developed from not being able to achieve a successful relationship with any of the men that she liked or she was just promoting homosexuality. In addition, some critics disputed the fact that the goal of "Goblin Market" is to motivate children's story which the author once anticipated. Perhaps, there is some speculation on how she outrageously uses seductive, religious and revengeful expressions as the framework for most of her writings.

             For the most part, the bulwark on which Goblin Market stands appears to boost the feminine spirit. The story discuss about two beautiful sisters, Laura and Lizzi as the target of men with bad intent. These men are called the Goblins. They signify deception and deceit. The story includes another girl Jeanie who was killed by the goblin because her lust for the forbidden fruit which was relentless. Despite knowing the consequences of eating the fruit of Eden, Laura betrayed herself and her sister by fulfilling her desire for the dainty fruit by plucking off a piece of her golden braid in exchange for the fruit of temptation. Some of the effects as we know from eating the forbidden fruit are inescapable everlasting sore. Unfortunately for Lizzi, she had to do the impossible just so to reverse the spell from her dying obstreperous sister. In a short note, this proves how hard it is for anyone to withstand persistent seduction. In spite of all we know about the goblin market, Lizzi confronted the goblins to buy some of the possessed fruit. When she faced the goblins merchants, she requested to purchase a large sum of the fruit in the form of cash. The motive stunned the merchants and they demanded a reason for such desire. Lizzi told them that she wanted to take the fruits home with her. The goblins were quick to realize the deceit and they refused to give her the fruit to take home but forced her to eat it right there. During the fight, Lizzi managed to at least get some of the fruit smashed all over her body. After she escaped from the goblin, she sped home to quench the thirst of her dying sister with the little remnant left of her body saying, Laura come eat and suck my body and replenish your true self. Laura did as she was told by Lizzi and after that, she regained her perfect life back. It is clear that most of the symbols used by the author had something to do with an unwanted relationship. The sequence in which the symbols are used and how the details in the episodes are structured prompt the notion of how abusive an opposite sex can be. Most of these symbols are described in the form of orchards, dainty, luscious and fruits. On the other hand, most of the symbols to fruit are synonyms such as to the word fruit were such merchant, coax, anguish, grimace and sore. Some of the sentences from the poem which supports my views are: “How fair the vine must grow whose grapes are so luscious” (page 1), “Must she then buys no more such dainty fruit?” (page 6)  “ and though the goblins cuffed and caught her, coaxed and fought her, bullied and besought her” (page 11).

           Finally, one of the most outstanding archetypes mostly used in the poem is to come and buy the orchard fruit. This is a portrayal of how good things do not come easy and that not all that glitters is gold. For the most part, the thing that drives me to believe that coaxing was the main archetype in this poem was the repetitiveness of such character in the poem. These expressions are archetypical metaphors which in other words mean something in disguise. Although it is difficult to abstain from our human desire to get the best yet, we should never underestimate our judgment when things look to good to be true. Life can be unpredictable sometimes, therefore, the dainty fruit which looks delicious can be deadly and consequential.

           In conclusion, I think the author’s use of such archetypes and symbols was to fixate the perception of her readers that women can be more powerful than men. The fact that this poem was written in the eighteen century is symbolic of the living fact  that fruit symbolizes sexual intent. For example, the bible illustrates what happened in the Garden of Eden in the form a fruit. This also shows how easy it is for the readers to connect to very common symbols instead of complex symbols. In retrospect, whether or not the author was trying to prove how optimistic a woman should be even in a life threatening situation, the way and manner of analyzing it in this poem seem controversial and ubiquitous. The goblin merchant can be any man out there today. Most deceitful men nowadays do not sell fruits but persuade their preys from a different approach. In a short note, all women still need men to satisfy their sexual cravings and to adhere the regeneration of mankind.

Works Cited