Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market

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Contrastingly, Rossetti originally claimed that ‘Goblin Market’ was a fairytale, suggesting that she perceives the events as being far removed from her society. Some of the biblical imagery in Goblin market suggests that in a patriarchal world unjust laws separate and divide people into hierarchies, this claim is backed up as Christina Rossetti believed that the only place where this was not the case was: "in Christ where there is neither male nor female, for we are all one", portraying her desire for equality. As Clifton Snider rightly states: “Temptation, in both its human and its theological sense, is the thematic core of Goblin Market.” In terms of theological temptation, the rich and qualitative descriptions of the fruit that is out set to tempt Lizzie and Laura describes the alluring nature of the fruits, creating a parallel to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. For example: “ peaches with a velvet nap” and “pellucid” grapes. Sensual imagery is created by use of the words ‘velvet’ and ‘pellucid’, adding to their alluring nature and highlighting the idea of luxury - something that only men can provide. The manipulation of religion to present womens weaknesses gives reason and justification for men to believe that…show more content…
Her privacy is not to be imposed - due to this she leaves the reader guessing at her inner life, suggesting that there’s no existing secret. This leads to a poem which maintains control over the reader by intriguing them with what’s not said. The reader can begin to question in all of these texts whether the writers are suggesting that women have ultimate control of their body and sexuality. For example - prostitution can be seen as more advantageous for women than the sexual acts performed within the novel. The feminist movement was split on prostitution. Some feminists saw the prostitute as a victim of a patriarchal society; others felt that the prostitution question might spoil their campaign for
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