Goblin Market Essay

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Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market is an open-ended story with ideas of femininity, temptation, sin, and redemption, and critics and readers seem to have a difficult time pinpointing a satisfying theme. However, the poem’s intended audience is perhaps even more widely debated. Some argue that it is a children’s story rich with lessons of good morals. It teaches the dangers of giving in to temptation, while also showing the importance of loving relationships. On the other hand, it is hard to ignore the erotic language and sensual imagery that are evident throughout the text. The poem also clearly parallels the story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. Although Rossetti has claimed that it was written as a simple fairy story with no profound intent, one cannot deny the mature undertones that clearly imply it to be a story for adults. Rossetti's word choice steadily gives rise to many sexual connotations. Her sensual descriptions of parts of the body such as lips, breasts and cheeks and usage of verbs such as to kiss, squeeze and suck make it hard for readers and critics to believe this a children’s story. When describing how Laura devours the mystical fruit, she states, “She sucked and sucked and sucked the more/
Fruits which that unknown orchard bore;/
She sucked until her lips were sore.” (134-136) This quote has obvious suggestive meaning. Said sexual connotations heighten the relationship between the male goblins and female maidens, and Laura's experience with the fruit seems to be a high that could be interpreted as orgasmic. In Kooistra’s article, Modern Markets for Goblin Market, she discusses how the illustrations further the sexual suggestions: “Illustrations play a determining role in establishing the targeted adult audience. The fairy tale becomes a sexual fantasy by means of images, which literalize suggestive metaphors and reify certain
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