Goblin Market: Illustration of Male Dominance and Female Desires

Even as a subject to the limiting forces of Victorian social mores, Christina Rossetti established herself as one of the pre-eminent female poets of her time. Replete with biblical allusions to Adam and Eve as well as commentary on gender roles, her poem "Goblin Market" is her crowning representation of the presence of social contracts in Victorian England. Rossetti juxtaposes content and form by creating a fairytale-like poem in terms of its rhyming and singsongy nature -- "Crab-apples, dewberries, / Pine-apples, blackberries, / Apricots, strawberries;— / All ripe together" -- while also crafting a sophisticated text that carefully comments upon the nature of feminine identity and sexuality during the period (12-15). The goblins she portrays serve to illustrate the male dominance and influence that many females were bound to during the time. The two sister's interactions with these goblin men combined with allusions to the original temptation, enlighten the reader to the existence of repressed sexual desires. In its acknowledgment of the male-dominated societal nature of Victorian England and a feminine sexual appetite, "Goblin Market" provides a subtly feminist text in a time when social contracts insisted on creating boundaries for women in the literary realm. The notion of sexual temptation presented in the story of Adam and Eve is matched here in "Goblin Market" in almost the exact same fashion. The two sisters, Laura and Lizzie are well aware of the negative consequences that come with a relationship to the goblin men -- "Their offers should not charm us, / their evil gifts would harm us” (65-66). However, despite her awareness of the dangers the goblins present, Laura chooses to indulge her desires. Notwithstanding, this is where she and Eve differ: Although they both knew of the potential harm they could inflict upon themselves, Eve gave into the whims of male influence while Laura pro-actively chose to sate herself, presenting a strong feminine