Victor Mendoza's Goblin Market
Purpose of Article
This journal article, written by Victor Mendoza, observes the relationship between sexual desire and economic consumption in the poem Goblin Market. The article is broken up into five sections, each examining a different aspect of this relationship. Mendoza draws heavily from Karl Marx’s writings on economic structure to frame his argument.
Summary
Mendoza begins by arguing that Goblin Market is an allegory for female sexuality, drug addiction and the issues surrounding the 19th century labour market. He notes that Christina Rossetti herself stressed that the poem should be read as an independent work and was not allegorical in any way but Mendoza suggests otherwise. It is also noted that the issues of economics and sexual desire are always intertwined in the poem, and that each school of thought is used to help shed light on the dynamics of the other. Mendoza also discusses the idea of fetishism in Goblin Market, particularly in terms of fetishism of the fruit. Mendoza provides historical context for this fetishism, noting that there were issues with harvest during 1859 meaning the purchase of fruit was a luxury. The mystery …show more content…
M., & Gubar, S. (1979). Part VI. Strength in agony: Nineteenth-Century poetry by women. In The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination (pp. 564-575). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Purpose of Article
This excerpt from a book chapter, written by well-known feminist scholars Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, examines the meaning of the poem Goblin Market in terms of female sexuality and economic exchange. Their book The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination explores female writers in the 19th century and the implications of their work on the feminist movement. Gilbert and Gubar are known for their work concerning feminist literature, with Madwoman in the Attic being one of their most popular collaborative works.
This journal article, written by Victor Mendoza, observes the relationship between sexual desire and economic consumption in the poem Goblin Market. The article is broken up into five sections, each examining a different aspect of this relationship. Mendoza draws heavily from Karl Marx’s writings on economic structure to frame his argument.
Summary
Mendoza begins by arguing that Goblin Market is an allegory for female sexuality, drug addiction and the issues surrounding the 19th century labour market. He notes that Christina Rossetti herself stressed that the poem should be read as an independent work and was not allegorical in any way but Mendoza suggests otherwise. It is also noted that the issues of economics and sexual desire are always intertwined in the poem, and that each school of thought is used to help shed light on the dynamics of the other. Mendoza also discusses the idea of fetishism in Goblin Market, particularly in terms of fetishism of the fruit. Mendoza provides historical context for this fetishism, noting that there were issues with harvest during 1859 meaning the purchase of fruit was a luxury. The mystery …show more content…
M., & Gubar, S. (1979). Part VI. Strength in agony: Nineteenth-Century poetry by women. In The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination (pp. 564-575). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Purpose of Article
This excerpt from a book chapter, written by well-known feminist scholars Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, examines the meaning of the poem Goblin Market in terms of female sexuality and economic exchange. Their book The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination explores female writers in the 19th century and the implications of their work on the feminist movement. Gilbert and Gubar are known for their work concerning feminist literature, with Madwoman in the Attic being one of their most popular collaborative works.