Goblin Market Summary By C. G. Rossetti
1. An Introductory Note:[Goblin Market Summary By C. G. Rossetti]
C. G.. Rossetti’s Goblin Market and Other Poems, the first collection of her poetry, appeared in 1862. The work proved appealing and was popular among a large circle of readers and its second edition followed a little more than a couple of years in 1865. These poems are found to have established Christina Rossetti as a reputed poetess. Her poem ‘Goblin Market’ has remained specifically popular and admirable. This poem marked a milestone in achieving a reaffirmation of the potentialities of women for independence and productivity, because of its feminist interpretation, centering the theme of sisterhood.
2. Summary of the Poem:
The poem is almost like a fairytale romance. It opens with two girls, not categorised as children or adults, and nothing is said about their parents. All that is clear that they lived together-two girls-two sisters-Laura and Lizzie. These sisters were haunted by the goblins with their marketing of diverse fruits and vegetables. The goblins were no human being. They were something unnatural, a sort of fairylike beings with distorted half-beastly looking features. They used to hawk their commodities with loud cries of temptation. They tried to tempt the girls with their articles. Of the two sisters, Laura, the first one was tempted and seemed to be drawn to go to their market and to have their fruit to consume once or more.
She was haunted with a keen desire that possessed her with a romantic charm and somehow or other, she was determined to go and taste the tempting fruit of the Goblin market. Laura’s representation of her desire to Lizzie, her sister, proved abortive. She rather tried to check Laura from getting tempted by the romantic call of the goblins. But Laura’s desire was untamable. She was totally lost in her dream of the ‘Goblin market and wants to be there at any cost and to have the taste of their products once more.
Laura was almost madden to hear the cries of goblin men. But she could hear no more their cries for selling their goods. Her desire for them made her depressed and gloomy. She did not have energy and spirit even to attain to her daily homely any food.
duties. She simply sat down listless in the chimney hook, without taking Naturally, Laura grew weak, feeble and joyless. Nothing could at all attract and energise her. Her sister Lizzie grew anxious for her state and was determined to do something to cure her present abnormalcy and brought her back to her old state of spirit and action. She well realized that she must have the antidote for Laura to save her from the dreadful impact of the goblins.
Lizzie took a desperate decision to meet the goblins for the sake of her sister Laura. Taking a silver penny, she went and came to meet the goblins hawking their goods. They, however, did not want to sell anything to Lizzie, but invited her to join in their feast. Lizzie did not accept their invitation. On the other hand, she gave them
her silver penny and asked to have their fruit in return. But her attitude was not to the liking of the goblins. They attacked her in a fit of rage, smeering her body with the juice of their fruits. There was some sort of physical violence in their action towards Lizzie. The goblins threw back her coin for they did not want to use the same, but rather to charm Lizzie. They angrily left her without responding to her call for their fruit. Lizzie, fortunately, returned home, saving herself from their torture. But she had performed her duty to her sister and proved instrumental to restore Laura to her former state.
Lizzie called to Laura to come to her and to taste the juice of the goblins’ fruit. That juice proved an antidote and restored Laura to her former state free from the seductive influence of the goblins. Thus, Laura was saved by her sister-Lizzie. The latter acted as her redeemer and she was redeemed. Lizzie, thus, proved highly beneficial to her sister.
At the end of the Goblin Market, the poetess represents the sisters in their blissful motherhood. The sisters were found to tell their children their experiences about the goblin market. Both the sisters underwent suffering in order to arrive at a new state of awareness. They had their sweet lesson and through Laura the poetess gave her final moral of the poem in its concluding lines:
“For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather: To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands.”
3. Synoptical Analysis
I. The sight and the sound of the goblin market : young maids were used to hear the sound of the goblin market in morning and evening. That market was crowded with goblins, not exactly human beings, but as a sort of romantic fellows with something humanly and beastly combined in them. They were found to ensnare young women with their fruits and vegetables. They were found erring morning and evening, hawking their various types of fruits and vegetables-apples, quinces, lemons, melons, raspberries, peaches and so on. They loudly proclaimed the high qualities of their articles, trying to draw the attention of the maids in particular to come, taste and enjoy their diverse items of fruits. (St. I
II. Two young maids Laura and Lizzie from their homes heard the cries from the goblin market. Laura was interested to hear the hawking cries of the goblin market, although Lizzie tried to keep herself aloof from the same. Whereas Laura fried to draw her sister’s attention to the way in which the sellers of the goblin market cried for the sell of their articles, Lizzie tried to refrain her to have interest in those hawkers. Both the sisters saw and heard the vendors of the market with different impact on them. (Stz. II)
III. Laura could not long resist her temptation to taste the fruit of the goblin market, despite her attempt to restrain her desire. Ultimalely, her restrain was gone and she came out of her home to visit the market and surrounded by the goblin vendors inviting her attention to their articles in various ways. Their ways were attractive and seductive. was hard for Laura to resist from tasting the goblins’ offer. (Stz. III-n
IV. At last Laura spoke to them, informing that she had no maney with her to purchase their alluring articles. The goblins, however, demanded no cash money from her. They asked only a golden lock to get their fruits and sucked the same with immense delight. The juice was so enjoyable that she had never sucked such a fruit. Infact, she went on sucking and sucking till her lips became sore. Finally, she turned to return home least caring to assertion whether the time was night or day. (Stz. VI)
V. Laura returned home and met her sister Lizzie at the gate to politely warn her against remaining out of her home after evening. She also reminded Laura of what happened to their companion Jeanie who plucked and ate same fruits which made her pine for the same continuously. At last, out of frustration and denied desire, she died. Laura, however, told her sister that she had tasted and enjoyed fully and hope to bring more fruit tomorrow for her sister and described to her own happy experience in the goblin market with her lips completely sweetened with the taste of the fruit there. (Stz. VII)
VI. After a pleasant sleep together, lying close to each other in the next morning, two sisters did their usual homely duties. Of course, Lizzie with her normal interests, but Laura in an absent-mind. While the former seemed quite happy and satisfied with the bright day-light, the latter appeared all depressed. When evening came, they went together to fetch water. Lizzie appeared quite calm and pleasant in her look. Laura had no interest at all. While the former moved apace to return, the latter loitered and delayed her stay among bushes (Stz. VIII-X)
VII. Laura seems to hear the call of the goblin market but she could not. All her yearning for the sellerscries could not be heard by her and that made her full of despair.
Lizzie, however, tried to comfort her. She seemed to hear the fruit-call but did not like to wait anymore for them and asked her sister to come back home lest they might be caught by thunderstorm.
Laura felt stunned to hear her sister’s listening to the goblinshttps://www.brojenhelp.com/
‘ cries. She was most eager to hear the same and to enjoy their fruit again. The sisters return home and went to sleep but whereas Lizzie slept, Laura could not. (Stanzas XI-XIII)
VIII. Laura thus remained watchful and sleepless for the goblins. Depression set upon her and made her weak and pale. With all her utmost desire she could not spy the goblin men or hear their hawking of fruits along the valley. She grew lean and weak and felt interest in nothing. She no more did her homely tasks but only remained silent and depressed thinking of the goblin men. (Stz. XIV-XVI)
IX. Lizzie, much affectionate to her sister, could not bear her fallen health and resolved to do something to bring her to relief and liveliness. She feared that her sister might die if she continued to lose herself thus in the thought of goblin men and matters, and decided to save her at any cost. She took a silver penny with her, crossed the heath, and came across the goblin hawkers to save her sister. (Stz, XVIIXVIII)
X. The goblins were interested to find Lizzie coming to them. They invited her to have a feast with them, but grew angry at her refusal.
wanted to have their sweet fruits for her sister and even gave them the silver penny. But the goblins felt enraged and began to deal roughly with her. They mishandled and insulted her, hugged and kissed her and even squeezed their fruits on her face. They then returned her silver penny and disappeared and heeding not at all to her pleas. (Stanzas XIX-XXII)
XI. Lizzie, though mishandled and insulted, was happy and returned home hopefully. She met Laura and told her of her meeting with goblins. She asked her to come and kiss her without caring for the marks of injuries on her face and body. Laura was cheered and rushed to her sister and began to kiss and suck the juice of fruits thrushed on her by the goblins. But the juice proved to be an antidote and Laura’s lips started to scorch and her tongue was turned bitter. Her attitude seemed to change altogether and her fondness for goblins seemed to go away. She realized her foolery to pine for such a thing that was poisonous to the core. (Stanzas XXIII-XXVII)
XII. Lizzie was happy to bring her loving sister to life from death. The two sisters continued to live as usual, in happiness and grace. They were two girls made into one by their affection and attachment. (Stanza XXVIII)
XIII. The concluding stanza presented the afterlife of Laura and Lizzie when they became wives with the children of their own. Laura was shown to tell her little ones the story of her girlhood with her sister, and teach them the moral of their lives”For there is no friend like a sister.” (Stanza XXIX)
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