Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, according to Terrence Holt, ‘has been read as a fantasy about sexuality,’ implying that the events of the poem were scandalous to visualise in the time period due to the ‘sexual threats,’ the characters undergo. The sixth and seventh stanzas of Rossetti’s work see one of two sisters, Laura, providing goblin merchants near her home with a ’golden lock’ of her hair in exchange for fruit, symbolic of her maidenhood. Her sister, Lizzie, then tells her that she ‘should not loiter in the glen’ of the goblins and recounts a tale of Jeanie, who took the goblin fruits and now ‘lies low’ after having ‘pined and pined away.’ Rossetti’s language ‘cannot escape from gender,’ implying that her poem outlines the differences between men and women, allowing her to describe what became of maidens who succumbed to their desires and engaged in sexual activities outside of marriage, how they were perceived and the aftermath.
The term ‘fallen women’ in Victorian literature was ‘used indiscriminately by the middle classes to describe any woman who had lost her chastity’ outside of marriage, according to Brenda Mothersole. The omniscient third-person speaker of Goblin Market ensures a judgement on the sisters cannot be made, however, Laura’s desperation can be inferred at her metaphorical address to the ‘goblins,’ mischievous and unattractive creatures, as ‘good folk,’ the phrase implying that they are regular people. When she tells them she has ‘no coin’ the goblins ask for a ‘golden curl,’ instead, the latter quotation symbolic of Laura’s purity. ‘Golden,’ not only describes and symbolises Laura’s hair but is symbolic of beauty and wealth, suggesting that the loss of a ‘golden lock,’ symbolised the loss of Laura’s innocence. Susan Gilbert and Susan Gubar note Rossetti’s work in The Madwoman in the Attic where they discuss the ‘realm of banishment,’ a euphemism for damnation, Rossetti creates for Laura after she is ‘anticipated by the seductions of the male muse.’ Rossetti writes that Laura ‘suck ‘d their fruit globes fair or red,’ a line which mirrors what Gilbert and Gubar describe as Rossetti’s ‘inner Eden,’ for parallels to Eve eating the fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden and subsequently being condemned are drawn. Laura’s inability to withdraw as she ‘suck’d and suck’d and suck’d,’ Rossetti’s repetition of the verb confirming the earlier assertion that she was desperate for affection, supports Gilbert’s and Gubar’s claims, for Laura seems to have entrapped herself in her sin. In doing so, she becomes the ‘fallen woman’ that was described.
Rossetti’s poem continues to grasp the concept of a fallen woman, Kathryn Burlinson outlining how Laura is a ‘discontented girl,’ in Christina Rossetti, implying that she is dissatisfied with her circumstances which explains her greed, who is ‘granted her wish to become the supreme object of desire.’ The strong inclination that Burlinson speaks of is reflected as Laura ‘suck’d until her lips were sore,’ Rossetti’s sibilance within the quotation connotes notions of seduction, and she becomes the sexual symbol Burlinson speaks of. Additionally, Rossetti writes that Laura ‘knew not was it night or day,’ demonstrating a lack of knowledge in her surroundings. This paired with the irregular rhyme scheme reflect the recklessness of the character, a consequence of the greed Burlinson speaks of. Alternatively, Rossetti’s reference to the times of the day and how Laura ‘flung,’ the verb implying she haphazardly threw the ‘emptied rinds away,’ suggests that Laura is under the control of the goblins. This supports another assertion penned by Burlinson, who discussed how ‘Rossetti inherited a tradition of women’s poetry,’ in which ‘faithless men were depicted as the norm,’ implying that the goblins were untrustworthy and are to blame for Laura’s behaviour. Nonetheless, whether Laura’s actions are beyond her control or in desperation to find satisfaction, Rossetti writes of Laura returning ‘home alone,’ despite a trade and engagement with folklore creatures, a now fallen woman, for she loses her innocence unmarried.
Gilbert and Gubar’s earlier arguments surrounding Rossetti’s religious commitments stem from her being ‘an Anglican in the High Church tradition, and much of her writing reflects the depth of her belief.’ This, as well as her participation in ‘the social movement to reclaim fallen women’ within Church support the notion that Goblin Market is Rossetti expressing her take on women ‘leading a viscous life.’ Lizzie is said to be ‘full of wise upbraiding’s,’ Rossetti’s enjambment in the character’s speech demonstrating this intelligence. She tells her sister that twilight ‘is not good for maidens.’ Rossetti reminds readers that Laura was once a chaste woman with her use of the archaic noun ‘maiden,’ juxtaposing the seductive and desperate connotations gathered from the repetition of ‘suck’d.’ The inner Anglican within Rossetti which The Madwoman in The Attic refers to is displayed in Lizze’s character, as she tells her sister to not ‘loiter,’ a verb which implies waiting around with no purpose, suggesting that Lizzie is stating her disapproval towards promiscuous behaviour, ‘in the haunts of goblin men.’ The ‘haunts’ Rossetti refers to are symbolic of the disturbing presence of the goblins, juxtaposing their earlier depiction as ‘good folk.’ Lizzie’s more literal reference to the goblin’s home as a ‘glen,’ demonstrates further juxtaposition, for in the previous stanza, the goblin’s home is referred to as an ‘orchard,’ an almost hyperbolic depiction, for the noun alludes to an enclosed garden as opposed to the residence of malicious folklore creatures. Burlinson’s earlier assertion that deceitful men within Victorian literature were commonplace is again supported in Rossetti’s writing for she uses the character of Lizzie to disregard men, whom the goblins symbolise.
It can be depicted that Lizzie symbolises Rossetti herself and the tale the character tells of Jeanie holds similarities to a case the poet may have witnessed herself during her time working at St. Mary Magdalene’s, for the Church’s association with sexual sin was readily available to employ in her poetry. In doing so, Jeanie becomes a synecdoche for fallen women, representing the several Rossetti assisted in her life. Lizzie describes how Jeanie ‘met (the goblins) in the moonlight,’ the ‘moonlight,’ similarly to the ‘twilight’ Lizzie told Laura not to ‘loiter,’ in, speaks of one of the few sources of light available within the evening. A motif is built, for the goblins apparently only decide to come about in the night, explaining why Jeanie ‘pined and pined away,’ for their fruits, the repetition of the verb emphasising her desperation and languish, in the ‘noonlight,’ juxtaposing the earlier allusions of night-time, for the latter quotation speaks of the brightest daylight. Whilst Rossetti’s rhyming of ‘moonlight’ and ‘noonlight’ emphasise the rapid decline Jeanie made in both reputation and mentality, her sensual language in describing how Jeanie wore the ‘flowers,’ of the goblins asserts this more literally. The noun symbolises femininity, and Jeanie’s decision to wear them ‘where summer ripens at all hours,’ suggests the character made her engagements obvious. Rossetti notes that after this she ‘grew grey,’ the alliterative phrase emphasising Jeanie’s fall from grace, a misadventure the poet most likely witnessed amongst countless women. Lizzie, who tells the tale of Jeanie, carries attributes of Rossetti herself, therefore.
To finish, the ‘issues of gender and sexuality,’ that are prevalent within Goblin Market are in part as a result of Rossetti penning her take on the fallen women of the Victorian period. The goblins and their glen echo ‘with a literary tradition that has used women as sexual scapegoats,’ allowing Rossetti to communicate her frustration with men who have taken away the maidenhood and innocence of women, the latter of whom are subsequently blamed for the downfall of society and suffer a fall in their reputation and mentality. Whilst the likes of Burlinson argue that a desire for satisfaction is to blame for characters such as Laura’s discreditable behaviour, Rossetti’s heavy juxtaposition, in which the difference between a mindful woman in stanza seven and an entrapped woman in stanza six, rejects this. The maintenance of a ‘difference between maidens and goblins’ is ‘preserved,’ by Lizzie’s character who speaks of Jeanie, a character who undergoes an everlasting dismissal which likely resembles an experience Rossetti witnessed during her lifetime. Thus, Rossetti’s work grasps and covers the concept of a fallen woman and it’s stipulations.
