'Goblin Market' Interpretations- Feminism, Marxism, Moral and Redemption

In our last English Lit lesson we looked in more detail at the other 4 interpretations that I mentioned in my previous blog entry. I will write a little bit about them each now, obviously I won't be talking about erotic as I gave a detailed blog entry about that previously.

Feminism
'Goblin Market' contains many aspects of feminism. For example the only representation of men in the poem are the goblins. This suggests that this was how Rossetti wanted us to see men in general. The goblins are animalistic in appearance and when they speak they hiss etc. So men are portrayed as evil, ugly creatures that "leer" at women and force themselves on them. Plus they seem quite seedy, a quote that illustrates this is "Pretty Goblin' still for 'Pretty Polly". The goblins are in a way patronising Laura.
In contrast, Laura and Lizzie are the only women in the poem, so we can assume they are symbollic of how Rossetti sees all women. In the poem women are all virtuous and good, but the goblin men ruin their relationships and steal their innocence. The women themselves have pure relationships with each other. For example Laura and Lizzie's relationship is so intimate it goes beyond sisterhood. This is shown in "cheek to cheek and breast to breast"-This is not necasserily erotic, it simply shows the pure relationships of women in comparison to men.

Finally in the poem women prevail over men as Lizzie is the heroine and she effectively defeats the goblins. So again Rossetti is showing women to be good and stong in a different way to men. For example even when it mentions that Laura and Lizzie marry at the end, there is still no reference to men. Instead it says "For there is no friend like a sister" to emphasise women's importance.

Marxism
Another way in which 'Goblin Market' could be interpreted is through Marxism. I found Marxism interesting as I had never heard of it before, and apparently it refers to money, trade and, in particular, consumerism.
I must admit I think that Marxism is the least important interpretation. However there are a few key points to be made. For example you could argue that in the poem there's this idea that consumerism is bad, and that we are never satisfied with what we have. An example of this in the poem is that once Laura has had a taste of the fruit she immediately wants more. This is shown in Laura in an absent dream...longing for the night". Laura is just wasting away waiting for the night to come so she can hear the goblins cry yet again. This could also link to Rosseti's religious views as Laura seems to show greed or gluttony which is one of the seven deadly sins.
Finally the goblins could represent business men, who trick people into buying their products. For example when it says "brother to sly brother" it's as if the goblins have spotted a vulnerable customer which they know they can pursuade to buy their produce.
However, like I said I consider Marxism to be the weakest of the five interpretations, for example in the poem the goblin refuse to take Lizzie's penny towards the end, yet money is the centre of business.

Moral
Morality is, I think, one of the if not the most important interpretations of 'Goblin Market'. This is because it ties in with the other interpretations so much. For example in the poem Rossetti gives us moral messages about Marxism, feminism, redemption and erotica/sex.
Rossetti's moral views are heavily influenced by her religion, and this is reflected in 'Goblin Market'. For example there is the allusion to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, as the fruit is mentioned it links to the garden of eden. So the fruit represents temptation and the goblins could represent Satan. We are warned (ironically by Laura) right of the beginning of the poem against the dangers of the fruit and goblin men; "We must not look at goblin men, we must not buy their fruits". So Rossetti could be saying that temptation is wrong is all ways, in regards to sex and greed.

In the poem Laura's actions represent the wrong thing to do. For example she gives in to temptation and sell herself in a way, to buy the fruit (links to prostitution). This has severe consequences as she ages prematurely and seems to become depressed in her longing for the fruit. This is shown in "Her hair grew thin and grey; She dwindled". She has lost herself along the way. We also see how the consequences of your own bad or 'sinful' actions can hurt other people, for instance Lizzie is "trod and hustled" and physically abused by the goblins whilst trying to save Laura.
Lizzie's actions in the poem show good and kindness. She self-lessly gives herself to the goblins for attack, and she still manages not to give in to temptation. This is shown in "she would not open lip from lip"-She refuses to succumb to the goblins.

So overall I think that 'Goblin Market' has many moral messages lying beneath the surface, and I have briefly touched on some of the key ones here. In my previous blog entry about erotic interpretations of the poem I talked about some of the sexual morals I believe Rossetti may have been trying to put across.

Redemption
Redemption is quite an important interpretation of 'Goblin Market'. There is the idea of forgiveness in the poem as soon as Laura succumbs to the goblins. At first Laura wants to be forgiven for eating the fruits and for leaving her sister alone whilst she gave in to her desires. However due to how affected Laura is by the fruit, she cannot redeem herself. So Lizzie, as her sister takes on this role. Lizzie's suffering at the hands of the goblins in order to save her sister/redeem her sins, shows parallels with the Christian redemptive story of Jesus on the cross. So in the story Lizzie's abuse would be reflective of Jesus' crucifiction, in which he dies so the human race can be forgiven for it's sins. For example Lizzie's body is broken (like Christ) so that Laura's sins can be forgiven. Lizzie's abuse is shown in "Twitched her hair out by the roots, stamped upon her tender feet"-She is clearly suffering.
Then, when Lizzie has saved Laura there is the idea of restoration, which, depending on how you interpret the poem can mean different things. For example it could be Laura being redeemed for her sins or it could symbollise her virginity being restored etc.

Finally at the end of the poem we see how grateful Laura is to her sister for saving her, "would tell them how her sister stood in deadly peril to do her good"-So Laura is almost trying to further redeem herself for what happened to Lizzie because of what she did. She does this by showing her gratitude and teaching her children how brave her sister was.
So overall I think redemption is quite a strong interpretation that again links to morals.

Overall, I think the two most important or strong interpretations of 'Goblin Market' by Christina Rossetti are moral and erotic, with redemption and feminism close behind, and Marxism at the bottom as I believe it's the weakest point for interpretation.