Goblin Market - Sexual Imagery - Annotated Bibliography Example

Goblin Market: Sexual Imagery Rossetti, Christina G. The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti. Ed. R.W. Crump and Betty S. Flowers. London: Penguin, 2001. Purpose The purpose of the article is to thwart down her critiques misleading interpretations of the poem biased on sexual overtones. She is vowed to help explain that the poem is children-based and can be used to teach children as we saw the two sisters in the later years using their experience top teach their children of the evil goblin market. Summary As pointed out by Rossetti (1962), the global market is a narrative poem composed by Christina Rossetti in April 1859 while its publishing was in 1862. According to the author, in her attempt to counteract her critiques to whom she claims have misleading interpretations, particularly, being analyzed as a sexual imagery and should have not been focused to children. The author stands ground and insists in public that the poem was children-focused and hence critiques interpretations were ill-fated. Rossetti’s brother known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the Pre-Raphaelite artist unfolds the poem. The poem is unfolded on the basis of two close sisters named Lizzie and Laura and goblin in which the derivation of poem’s titled is founded. Despite young looking sisters, Rossetti makes them look mature enough to reside in a house by themselves and have to fetch water from a nearby stream on every evening where goblin market men would later trashed Laura virginity on the basis of forbidden fruit. Evaluation The poem is relevant in teaching the children against the need to remain focused and educate themselves without indulging into premarital affairs that leads to premature loss of girlhood as portrayed by Laura who is seen to have been depressed and worn of prematurely as she falls into the goblin merchants luring calls for people to go and buy their fruits, “Come buy our orchard fruits, come buy, come buy: Apples and quinces, Lemons and oranges, Plump unpeck’d cherries, Melons and raspberries” Bentley, D.M.R. "The Meretricious and the Meritorious in Goblin Market: A Conjecture and Analysis." Kent, Achievement 57-81. Purpose The article is purposed to explain the perception of female desire of which its answer is embedded on who or what forbids fruit consumptions; patriarchal society lived in by Rossetti or immutable Divine Being. As illustrated by ambiguity of the poem portraying Rossetti as to have heeded on the notion that the issue is hardly solved on the basis of cultural and ideological limitations of society. Summary Bentley critics is all embedded on the fall of twilight with usual calls originating from the goblin merchants engaged in massive fruit trading in a variety of fruits as well as savor. The ladies are in a compromising situation with no money but are attracted to fruits and this is where the poem starts being at great logger-heads with its critiques as this would culminate into immorality so as to trade-off in order to get the fruits. This is seen as a feasibility as Laura finds herself at the stream after Lizzie has set off for home and she is scared by goblin strange appearance and strategy of selling, this culminates into her trade off her lock hair to fruits and described as , ‘a tear more rare than pearl.’ Lizzie is disturbed by the long stay of her sister and when she finally appear at home and explains to her sister where she had been, Lizzie uses Jeanie’s death to warn her sister on such repercussions. Laura rubbishes such sentiments and attach them to baseless fears and hence would be a frequent visitor to goblin with an aim to return with more fruits for both of them. The forbidden fruits is attached to Laura’s depression as she could no longer hear the chants while at the stream while her sister remained alert. Evaluation The article presents an avenue to further understand how Rossetti is at deadlock to explain perception of female desire as not only embedded on sexual desires but every aspect of woman desire. The article is relevant as it help show contrast between the two sister’s separate perceptions with Laura’s curiosity leading her to the hands of evil goblin men that ruins her life. Garlick, Barbara. "The Frozen Fountain: Christina Rossetti, the Virgin Model, and Youthful Pre-Raphaelitism." Virginal Sexuality and Textuality in Victorian Literature. Ed. Lloyd Davis. Albany: State U of New York P, 1993. 105-27. Purpose The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the fallen Victorian women to Laura and Lizie’s cases as brought out in Rossetti’s poem. It use virginity and sexuality to help explain how Victorian women are viewed as fallen and cannot retrieved by their life in contrast to Laura’s case in the goblin market poem. Summary As indicated Garlick (1993), Lizzie while disturbed by her sister sickness and depression and attaches this to lack of tasted forbidden goblin fruits, her mind is full of allusion and contrast to Jeanie, her dead friend and points out that, ‘ Who should have been a bride;/But who for joys brides hope to have/ Fell sick and died”. Further such stanza with the wordings, ‘’She sucked their fruit globes fair or red” as well as “Lizzie uttered not a word; / would not open lip from lip/lest they should cram a mouthful in; /But laughed in heart to feel the drip /of juice that syrruped all her face, /And lodged in dimples of her chin, /And streaked her neck which quaked lie curd (Rossetti, 1862).” The poem is brought as having a lot of sexual overtones and in particular the vast variety and savor fruits sold by goblin merchants is alluded to the Adam and Eve forbidden fruits as well as the attached high degree of temptation as validated by Laura’s attempts to eat the forbidden goblin fruits. This brings out the interpretation feminine sexuality which is further amplified by the poems close linkages and similarities to Victorian Social Mores hence the poem is overtly sexual. The repressed sexual desires and violence in the poem is clearly outlined by the massive use of symbols by the author. We are told of virginal young girls, Lizzie and her sister Laura who are purely innocent as the poem begins to unfold. Curiosity is further portrayed to have overwhelm Laura in contrast to her sister, Lizzie who keeps on warning her against the goblin merchants. There is a challenging self-violence brought by Laura as she struggles uncomfortably with respect to exploration of natural human desires and consequences attached to lusts pursuant. Evaluation The use of such charged languages like “sucked’ as well as “heaved”, Laura’s virginity is gone as her youthful and bloom is rubbished by the goblin merchants as she agrees to surrender to goblin men enticed by tempting fruits. As alluded to Victorian Society, deflowering is a key transitional stage amongst their women as this see them enter adulthood and hence seen as mothers and wives. Normal Social Life re-introduction acted as an approach to retrieve the lost Laura’s maidenhood. Sexual overtones have been used in this poem which clearly beyond any reasonable doubts illustrates sexual acts. We see the compromising situation that the young two sisters are presented with that makes Laura, totally without a penny to buy fruits, loses her maidenhood to the goblin merchants who have tactfully used rising marketing strategies to lure her and later left solely at the hands of her sister to who sacrifices to see her healed. Mermin, Dorothy (1983). "Heroic Sisterhood in Goblin Market". Victorian Poetry 21 (2): 107–118. Purpose The purpose of the article is to showcase how the two sisters held on two one another despite the sufferings they were subjected to base on sexual actions of goblin women. It helps illustrate how Lizzie offered to help her sister to get healed by despite the difficulty she faced in the hands of goblin men and hence reveals the sexual violence. Summary As pointed out by Mermin (1983), the trajectory presented by Laura’s sister, Lizzie based on the sexuality interpretation is not clearly defined. However, sexual violence is illustrated via her as close examination is done based on when goblin men try to force their foolish acts on her. We see her being attacked by goblin merchants with upon realizing that she wanted to pay in cash for the fruits and they vowed to force the forbidden fruits into her mouth as she refuted and thwarted down their plans. Laura’s maiden status is stripped off her as she deflowers long before she is married resulting from tactical acts of goblin merchants who prematurely engage her into such sexual immoral acts. Laura’s will suffer just like Jeannie based on her refusal to heed to Lizzie’s proactive and beneficial pieces of advice. Laura’s naivety peddled by much curiosity causes her the pain, depression and loss of maidenhood as she thwarted and dismissed her sister’s pieces of advice that could have helped her retain her virtue as did the Lizzie, her sister. Evaluation The silver penny played a key role in Lizzie’s virtue as it is through this that her strongest vow to oppose the goblin men immoral acts is embedded. Silver penny is brought to have two meanings as on one end, it illustrated Elizabethan phrase describing female genitalia and on the other hand aided in transaction by goblin merchants and Lizzie as a trade-off for goblin’s market for fruits. The interpretation of sexual imagery is brought out clearly in this poem. Despite the author taking his grounds on the applicability of this poem to young children, it has more symbolism that points towards sexual imagery. Reference Bentley, D.M.R. "The Meretricious and the Meritorious in Goblin Market: A Conjecture and Analysis." Kent,Achievement 57-81. Garlick, Barbara. "The Frozen Fountain: Christina Rossetti, the Virgin Model, and Youthful Pre-Raphaelitism." Virginal Sexuality and Textuality in Victorian Literature. Ed. Lloyd Davis. Albany: State U of New York P, 1993. 105-27. Mermin, Dorothy (1983). "Heroic Sisterhood in Goblin Market". Victorian Poetry 21 (2): 107–118. Rossetti, Christina G. The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti. Ed. R.W. Crump and Betty S. Flowers. London: Penguin, 2001. Read More