Rossetti Criticize the Victorian Society in Her Poem ‘Goblin Market’
In
‘Goblin Market’, Christina Rossetti alludes to the traditional discourse of
forbidden fruit and the biblical account of the Fall to challenge the decidedly
patriarchal perception of women within Victorian culture in terms of sexuality,
education and the marketplace and also to reconstruct the Christian idea of redemption.
The forbidden fruit undoubtedly refers to female
sexuality, yet it can also relate to female education and knowledge. Victorian
women were forbidden to indulge in sexual pleasure because they were regarded
as the passionless angels in the house, and were seen as ‘too pure and sacred
to share in the disgusting lusts that afflicted men’. At the same time, they
were not to be given the same education as men because it was believed that too
much intellectual activity would cause their reproductive organs to
malfunction.
From 1859 to 1870 Rossetti was a volunteer worker at
the St Mary Magdalene house of charity in High-gate, a refuge for fallen women.
In ‘Goblin Market’ Rossetti promotes social acceptance, for Laura is able to
live a ‘normal’ life in the end, becoming a respectable wife and mother,
whereas in Rossetti’s society, a woman once ‘fallen’ could not regain
respectability. Rossetti seems to be saying that if a perfect God can accept these
women, society, which is itself imperfect and corruptible, should also accept
them. She does not support the way society deals with such women. She suggests
that instead of ostracism, society should be encouraged to sacrificially
embrace them as Lizzie embraces Laura.
When Laura tastes the goblin fruit for the first time
it tastes very sweet. But when she tastes the juices the second time, they are
no longer sweet. The imperfect society of Victorian England forbids such items
to women, and therefore the consumption of these fruits brings destruction
within that particular society.
Rossetti worked at High-gate. She did not see much
difference between the woman who sells herself in marriage, who does not marry
for a genuine love, and the woman who has sexual experience before marriage
because she is fooled by the promises of human love. Both are guilty of placing
the things of earth before God.
In the poem Lizzie is shown to act in order to promote
freedom for women within her society by confronting the goblins- and
consequently the patriarchal system of ostracism. Rossetti was evidently torn
between realizing how blatantly her society seemed to disregard the biblical
precedence for forgiveness and acceptance and actually being able to function
effectively as an individual within that society.
Thus, Rossetti addresses the restrictions placed on
women, using biblical examples to reveal that these restrictions are
incongruous with the will of God. She puts her unswerving hope in Christ and
heaven for the restoration of her society.
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