Feminism in Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”

One of the more interesting results from the relationship between writers and their readers lies in the transcendental nature of the work they produce. The work writers leave behind will always be left open to interpretation by future generations of their readers. What I find fascinating is the writer, however, can never fully grasp the historical and cultural implications their writing may have across time, political and socio-economic movements and international borders. When Victorian era poet Christina Rossetti wrote her famous narrative poem Goblin Market, published in 1862, she did so without an inkling of the twenty-first century schools of thought surrounding feminism, queer theory, theology and consumerism that would be applied to her work. Regardless of her original intentions, several scholarly articles agree the text does lend itself to a feminist interpretation through her representation of heroines Lizzie and Laura. British author and biographer Kathleen Jones puts into words this far-sighted assignation of meaning while still working within the text itself: “Modern feminist scholarship has placed Christina’s poetry firmly within the ‘aesthetics of renunciation’, to quote Gilbert and Gubar in The Madwoman in the Attic, and has focused on the subversive elements in ‘Goblin Market’ and in her earlier poetry where her articulation of the struggle for a voice within a creed which consistently denied it to her, and a self-hood which at the same time must be self-less, articulates the central conflict of a woman writer in the nineteenth century”. If we accept Jones’ statement at face value we must consider how she reached this conclusion.

In this essay I plan on addressing how Goblin Market, a text written under the restrictions of the nineteenth century, works to elucidate ideals of feminine agency and restrictions through Laura and Lizzie. How might the motivations and actions of Laura and Lizzie relate to Christina Rossetti and her contemporaries’ ideas surrounding a nascent feminist movement developing in 19th-century Great Britain that have allowed others to consider her? For the purposes of this research paper I found a sufficient amount of published articles that examine Rossetti’s Goblin Market through the lens of 21st century feminist themes, sisterhood and the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Even though historically Rossetti never expressly stated Goblin Market was meant to be an exploration of the nascent feminist movement occurring during the late 19th century several others have picked up on the same feminist thread I hope to contribute to.

Christina Rossetti completed Goblin Market on April 27, 1859, which was coincidentally her mother’s birthday, and had it published in 1862 in a poetry collection by her titled Goblin Market and Other Poems that featured illustrations drawn by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who was a poet in his own right and a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Goblin Market follows the form of a narrative poem and employs a rhyme scheme that conveys sentimentality among sisters Lizzie and Laura, menace building among the goblin men and lists of foods, specifically fruits. “Metrically, the poem is highly irregular, but its rhyme scheme is relatively consistent, being composed overwhelmingly of couplets or triplets contained within a handful of lines”. Rossetti, as previously mentioned, was heavily influenced by her relationships with her family in her work. She notably engaged in friendly literary competition with her brother Dante Gabriel but not much was widely known about her relationship with her eldest sister Maria Francesca, which we can assume was included in her representation of sisters in Goblin Market. “The dedication of Goblin Market to “M.F.R.” offers one more clue. Christina was not accustomed to promiscuous or casual dedications of this kind, and as William wrote, the inscription certainly suggests that she had “some particular occurrence in her mind.” Though he could not identify this, he did point out that the “two poems which immediately preceded Goblin Market in date show a more than normal amount of melancholy and self-reproach”. Rossetti drew inspiration from Anna Eliza Bray, her mother Frances Rossetti’s cousin, who authored a collection of stories based on the fantastical. Women, her mother and sister Mary predominately, seem to factor as strong influences in Rossetti’s life and many of her family members were not only artistically inclined but quite talented which clearly shaped Rossetti’s writing. “Its tales were given even wider currency in 1854 when Mrs. Bray published A Peep at the Pixies, or Legends of the West, in which she retold some of the stories for a younger audience.

This book was certainly known to Christina, who originally called her own poem “A Peep at the Goblins,” as she explained later, “in imitation of my Cousin Mrs Bray’s ‘A Peep at the Pixies”. Before publication, the alternative title Goblin Market was suggested by Gabriel, anxious as always to diminish the derivative elements in Christina’s work”. At the crux of Goblin Market is what becomes a lifesaving relationship between sisters and taking Rossetti’s close relationship to her family into account it is understandable that she focuses on the familial bonds at play between two women protagonists. The poem celebrates sisterhood, so a dedication to Maria is obviously appropriate”. This dedication confirms Christina and Maria’s relationship served as a blueprint for the relationship between Lizzie and Laura. That Goblin Market became the most well-known of Christina Rossetti’s works is telling of her ability to connect with audiences through this poem, where the real strength lies in the powerful bond between sisters she was able to convey. Jan Marsh explores Christina Rossetti’s struggles to become a published poet and her admiration of joining her contemporary women writers to achieve a similar level of success. “Career models were provided by Felicia Hemans, Letitia Landon (“L.E.L.”), and Elizabeth Barrett” (Marsh 233). In understanding her motivations to attain a brilliant career and become a self-sufficient member within the limited society she inhabited we can understand that as paving a way towards autonomy in line with other feminists striving for the opportunity to do the same, whether out of necessity or for personal fulfillment. Rossetti never expressly stated an allegiance to the developing women’s suffrage movement although she did champion animal rights and raising the age of consent to protect children forced into prostitution. Both causes listed required her to hold a position of some power within her community that allowed her to advocate for the causes dear to her. This is a form of feminism in action, whether she expressly admit to it or not, that is apparent in many of her poems most notably Goblin Market.

Lizzie and Laura are sisters and the central figures of Rossetti’s poem where they are characterized as being typical “maidens’ who perform that role through performative, gendered acts of industry within their home. The lines “Fed their poultry, sat and sew’d; /Talk’d as modest maidens should:” provide a pastoral scene of a traditional and conventional life both sisters lead, as they should according to the conventions upheld by British society in the nineteenth century. They both appear to abide to certain rules or expectations as modest maidens until Laura breaks that contract by purchasing and eating the fruit of the goblin men. The transaction involved Laura clipping a golden curl in exchange for access to the fruit peddled by the goblin men. This exchange is deeply rooted in a religious sentiment similar to ideas shared by Emile Durkheim’s book In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) where he posits that the two substances of the human body perceived as sacred are hair and blood. Rossetti, a devout follower of the Anglo-Catholic movement of the time, understands the religious significance of this corporal exchange is not lost her intended audience. While Laura defiles her body through that action she exhibits an autonomy of self to do as she pleases in this moment with her body. Ownership has shifted from the suffocating restrictions of being a “modest maiden” to Laura as an individual, as a woman. The desire to experience more beyond her current circumstances was awoken in Laura and when the opportunity presented itself she made the choice to indulge that yearning, “Curious Laura chose to linger/Wondering at each merchant man” much to Lizzie’s chagrin. Laura satisfies her piqued curiosity by eating the fruit sold to her by the goblin merchants only to find herself dissatisfied and craving more, “Then sat up in passionate yearning./And gnashed her teeth for baulked desire, and wept/As if her heart would break.

These symptoms mark the beginning of Laura’s extended list of ailments caused by ingesting the goblin men’s fruit. A transgression of this magnitude, a young woman who is acted on her desires and made use of her body to fulfill those desires must bear serious consequences. There is a poignancy written into the poem by a sympathetic Rossetti, apparent in Laura’s weeping and feeling as if her heart will break, perhaps inspired by her work with St. Mary Magdalene Penitentiary in Highgate, a charitable institution for the reclamation of “fallen” women. In order to discuss the gender politics in Goblin Market an acknowledgement must be made of the autobiographical influences in a poem that depicts a “fallen” sister in Laura and creates a space for the inverse to occur in her sister Lizzie. Lizzie’s strengths work as a foil to Laura’s perceived weaknesses yet both sisters have sufficient agency and privilege to act out their inner desires. Both show courage and strong wills yet it is Lizzie who triumphs in rescuing her sister and through her their conventional lives. By establishing Lizzie and Laura as being diametrically opposed throughout most of the poem which in turn creates most of the conflict that occurs. Helena Michie posits the range and complexities of feminine characters are successfully explored through sisters because they exhibit natural differences which we can see highlighted in Laura and Lizzie. Other themes not discussed in detail in this paper but brought up by Michie include sexuality and lesbianism, the use of repetition in the form of the poem to during passages where the sisters only interact with one another highlight sexual tensions and an idyllic ending where the relationship between sisters is exalted above their respective husbands and children.

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Yet before the sisters attain their idyllic ending, they must first overcome the trials of womanhood. The decision to take action is not taken lightly by Lizzie. By doing so, she knowingly changes the narrative and the course of their lives. The following passage depicts the moment Lizzie realized she must step into the role of savior that was not typically assumed by a woman at this time by assessing her sisters failing health and deciding to make the decision to lead a fully autonomous life independent of societal norms and expectations. Before becoming Laura’s redeemer, Lizzie must undergo her own transformation.

This passage is heavy with descriptions that indicate an impending transformation is occurring within Lizzie. The choice of “weighed no more” illuminates Lizzie’s judicious nature which allows her to proceed to make a balanced decision having considered both outcomes between action and inaction resulting in her decision to take a risk and confront what she has been taught to avoid in the hopes of restoring her dying sister to her original state. Lizzie has the forethought to bring a silver penny with her in order to circumvent paying for the goblin men’s fruit with her body. She is wiser for her sister’s error and uses this knowledge as a shield against an unwanted transaction. Money is another form of attaining agency acknowledged within the poem, however we never learn how this particular silver penny was earned. Lizzie travels under the cover of twilight, a time defined as “a state in which things are strange, mysterious or secret; a state that exists on the dividing line between two things” by the Oxford Learner’s dictionary and waits for the Goblin men near a running brook which sets up an ideal location for a supernatural meeting. Finally, Lizzie’s metamorphosis into a woman who can save her sister and bring her back from her brink of death is completed when she sheds her former identity to listen and look for the first time in her life.

Emily Blair references sections of Rossetti’s Goblin Market in order to support her argument elucidating the relationship between women in close familial units and the limitations they face under the male gaze. Blair introduces the connection between Rossetti’s Jeanie in Goblin Market and her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s poem Jenny which provides interesting historical context illuminating how Christina perceived women’s roles. The more interesting point brought up by Blair is her piggybacking on an idea of Catherine Maxwell’s: “Mindful of Jeanie,” obtains what she wants from the goblins without succumbing to their powers. It is Lizzie, not Jeanie, who becomes Laura’s precursor, and “remembering Jeanie” becomes a way of reminding oneself about the necessary dangers of negotiating with men’s texts and men’s images of women. In Gaskell’s novel too, “remembering Jeanie” reminds the reader of the necessity of negotiating with men’s texts and men’s images of women”. Here we see the idea of a gendered negotiation at play and introduces the argument that Lizzie is a redeemer of fallen women, represented in the poem by Laura, and how they both work out their role as women who seem to obtain what they set out to accomplish. Now to focus on the construct of feminism through the didactic actions of Lizzie; she suffers at the hands of the goblin men who through their tricks and eventually violence try to break Lizzie’s will. They see her as a woman they can cajole or manipulate into performing in a way they would like her to and when they are unsuccessful leave her bruised and bloodied. Laura gets to indulge in the Goblin men’s fruit and through her sister’s sacrifices is able to return from death or life as a cautionary tale to other young women to a perfectly unexceptionally ordinary life.

Jill Rappaport supports the idea there is an inherent consumeristic value surrounding the female body, specifically Laura’s exchange of a lock of hair for the fruits sold by the goblin men. She also compares Lizzie with acting as a religious savior who manages to work through her gendered limitations during this time period to successfully save her sister from death. Albert D. Pionk explores the commodification of women’s bodies, fruit, and money all within the Victorian market place developing at the time Goblin Market was published. Pionk asks that we work past prior interpretations of Goblin Market as solely a Christian allegory and instead offers up a “hybrid reading” that includes delving into “heroic sisterhood” and “redemption in a market driven society”. Similarly to Marsh, there is a focus on Rossetti’s motivations in penning this poem and historical influences. There also a focus on how the meter and form of the poem work to convey emotion and action during the most crucial points, serving to emphasize the moralistic message Rossetti wishes to impart on the reader.

Rife with examples that support the assertion that Rossetti has written a text works as a feminist poem to current readers, as supported by Janet Galligani Casey, “It is only in the second half of the twentieth century, with the emergence of feminist literary criticism and new critical theories from France, that the work of women like Christina Rossetti has been rediscovered.” Casey explores feminist themes within Goblin Market by providing biographical information about its author’s correspondences with women’s rights thinkers of the time. Rossetti puts into words concrete statements that support feminist ideals. “In a letter to Augusta Webster, an eminent writer and advocate of women’s suffrage, Rossetti asserts that maternal love makes a woman “not a giantess or a heroine but at once and full grown a hero and giant”. This example proves Rossetti wrote her most well-known narrative poem without an inkling of the 21st-century schools of thought surrounding feminism, queer theory, theology and consumerism, there is conclusive proof in this scholarly article that agrees the text does lend itself to a feminist interpretation of heroines Lizzie and Laura. Casey undercuts her initial argument, sharing Rossetti had no intention of penning a “feminist manifesto” with Goblin Market and instead meant to show women are able to take on several roles, even those traditional held by men. Both Lizzie and Laura pass the Bechdel test with flying colors because they often discuss their chores, the adverse effects of dealing with Goblin men who do not operate in the same way as human men and ultimately there is no mention of husbands at the close of the poem, we only know they have both become wives. In its essence, this is a poem about women that is for readers regardless of gender making it a shining example of what feminist writings aspire to be. Boldly highlighting the various roles women play without being perceived as exclusionary to male readers.

Taking biographical details from Rossetti’s life and a resurgence in scholarship surrounding Goblin Market from the past three decades into consideration we can see that Goblin Market has clearly attained its enduring legacy because of Rossetti’s deliberate multivalence assignation of meaning. Every reader has a unique experience reading the poem, adding a new interpretation because of Rossetti’s accomplishments as a dexterous writer. Casey alludes to the multitudinous interpretations available in Goblin Market in her research: “However, Goblin Market is also recognized as a work which successfully sustains several levels of meaning simultaneously; its rich “suggestive,” first commented upon by William Michael Rossetti, prompts numerous and varied interpretations”. This openness to interpretations opens a window to interpretations of feminist readings comfortably. Rossetti’s poem is a living document scholars deem worthy of reading and working with centuries after its publication. This is the longevity and success Rossetti hoped to attain in life and is her due as one of the greatest writers to come out of the Victorian era, woman or man. By attaining this level of success she has proven through her life’s work if not in writing that she is a feminist icon for her ability to leverage her education and talent into a career. Regardless of her self-imposed restrictions and religious fanaticism she was not confined to writing for herself or family members, she wrote for society at large and was published multiple times in her lifetime, reaching all audiences and reads by many of the best writers of the time. She followed her passions in writing if not in life and was able to create poetry that helped shape and redefine writers of the Victorian Era. Largely considered the natural successor to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning is no small feat. She carried the gauntlet by producing work that was true to her morals and were rooted in personal relationships and experiences. Therein lied her true power and that is how she accessed her abilities to share with the world.

Conclusion

She was part of an impressive roster of women writers of this period who were well aware of how to use their gender through writing to command respect, “Specifically, many of the books on female conduct written by nineteenth- century women prove that these writers did not always perceive themselves as impotent. Their works consistently question the traditional sexual dichotomy by revealing a belief in the power — especially the moral power — of women”. In subverting traditional gender roles, Goblin Market will continue to serve feminine agency and empowerment.