Goblin Market Christina Rossetti Analysis

“Goblin Market”, a poem by Christina Rossetti, was written in the Victorian Era during a time of vast social and economic change across Europe. Even though this period was during a time of female suppression and order, Rossetti exposes many social ideologies -such as purity and female education- fd through the journey of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie. Despite initial impressions of being a childhood fairytale, the suggestive use of language implies an underlying message of an erotic sexual commentary, and something much deeper than children’s literature. Rossetti conveys the power of sisterhood represented through the sister’s journey, while conveying moral lessons of an earthly nature. She implies the traditional tale of the Biblical references including the story of the Forbidden Fruit and through the use of a Christ-like figure. In her poem, she challenges the Biblical perception of women, but also reconstructs the idea of of the fallen female and feminine redemption. …show more content…
In many works like that of John Stuart Mill and John Ruskin, there was “this concept of womanhood [which] stressed woman 's purity and selflessness, [They] were protected and enshrined within the home, [their] role was to create a place of peace where man could take refuge from the difficulties of modern life” (519). Many women of the time were writing to establish that they, compared to men, also had rights; They believed their lives should not have been based on their purity or obedience to their husbands. The restrictions that these women had were what caused many females to throw backlash. In the “Goblin Market”, Rossetti challenges these ideals, and exhibits a feminist perspective to a woman’s life based on the choices they made during this