Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market: Focus On Religion Or Gender And Sexuality

Carpenter, Mary Wilson. “‘Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me’: The Consumable Female Body in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market.’ (Feminist Literary Criticism of Victorian Poetry).” Victorian Poetry, no. 4, 1991, p. 415. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.12084261&site=eds-live&scope=site.

This article by Mary Wilson Carpenter focuses on female sexuality and its presence in Victorian Era works such as Goblin Market. It discusses Rossetti’s volunteer work with the prostitutes of the St. Mary Magdalene Home and the influence this work may have had on Rossetti. Carpenter argues that Rossetti’s experience with these fallen women influenced her views on female sexual desires and therefore her portrayal of the female body in Goblin Market.

This article centers around the feminist side of the devout Christian author, Christina Rossetti. It’s focus on her work with other women reveals sisterhood as a bond that can save one another. This article can be related to “Transfigured to His Likeness’: Sensible Transcendentalism in Christin Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market” by Linda Marshall because each article discusses a sisterly bond between women.

Humphries, Simon. “The Uncertainty of Goblin Market.” Victorian Poetry, no. 4, 2007, p. 391. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsglr &AN=edsgcl.173970531&site=eds-live&scope=site.

In the article by Simon Humphries, he examines the religious aspects of Goblin Market such as the dual nature of the goblin men’s fruit. He relates the fruit that first poisons and then cures Laura to the act of taking communion. Those who are worthy and receive the sacrament will not suffer, but those who are unworthy and eat the body of Christ will provoke God to plague them.

This article looks at the traditional interpretation of Goblin Market and related aspects of the poem to aspects of Christianity. This article is similar to “Transfigured to His Likeness’: Sensible Transcendentalism in Christin Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market” because of the focus on Rossetti’s religion in both articles. It is different because it illustrates the clear, but still important, religious themes in Rossetti’s poem.

MacDonald, Anna E. “Edible Women and Milk Markets: The Linguistic and Lactational Exchanges of ‘Goblin Market.’” Nineteenth Century Gender Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, Winter 2015, pp. 38–47. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct= true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=hlh&AN=113181425&site=eds-live&scope=site.

This article is about the changing views of women during the Victorian Period. The author of the article attempts to bridge the gap between the two common and contrasting interpretations of Goblin Market by relating the sucking of the fruit juice to that of breastmilk. The author supports her points by showing that the main characters, Laura and Lizzie, are a part of a community that is immersed in processes of lactational production through the production of dairy products.

This article is relevant to the topic because it illustrates one interpretation of the poem. It examines the poem from a different point of view than others and includes historical context for these evaluations. The focus on the historical context of breastfeeding allows readers to see the implicit interpretation Goblin Market that is deeper than the explicit. The unique point of view of the author, Anna MacDonald, is what makes this article truly different from others that examine the more obvious religious theme of the poem.

Marshall, Linda E. “‘Transfigured to His Likeness’: Sensible Transcendentalism in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market.’” University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 3, Spring 1994, pp. 429–450. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/utq.63.3.429.

This article looked at Rossetti’s intended meaning for Goblin Market. Her brother, William Rossetti, thought the central point of the poem was in the bond of sisterly love that Lizzie and Laura shared. This was a tribute to her sister Maria, who had helped prevent Christina’s spiritual backsliding.

This article stands out from others because it looks to a primary source for the meaning behind the poem. This first-hand information leads to a better understanding of Rossetti’s intent for the poem. This article is similar to “The Uncertainty of Goblin Market” by Humphries because they both take into account Rossetti’s background as a devout Christian.

Bibliography

1. Carpenter, Mary Wilson. “‘Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me’: The Consumable Female Body in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market.’ (Feminist Literary Criticism of Victorian Poetry).” Victorian Poetry, no. 4, 1991, p. 415. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.12084261&site=eds-live&scope=site.
2. Humphries, Simon. “The Uncertainty of Goblin Market.” Victorian Poetry, no. 4, 2007, p. 391. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsglr &AN=edsgcl.173970531&site=eds-live&scope=site.
3. MacDonald, Anna E. “Edible Women and Milk Markets: The Linguistic and Lactational Exchanges of ‘Goblin Market.’” Nineteenth Century Gender Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, Winter 2015, pp. 38–47. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct= true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=hlh&AN=113181425&site=eds-live&scope=site.
4. Marshall, Linda E. “‘Transfigured to His Likeness’: Sensible Transcendentalism in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market.’” University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 3, Spring 1994, pp. 429–450. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/utq.63.3.429.