Goblin Market

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1862

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Cultural Context: Fairy Folklore

The fairy and elf archetypes have existed across Europe under many different names: Fae/Fey, the Fair Folk, Anjana, Sìdh(e), Aos Sí, Huldufólk, and Tylwyth Teg.

Regardless of the name, fairies and other myths frequently made their way into the works of English Victorian-era poets. As England became more industrial and urban, writers took stories and figures from the past to explore worries over their day’s social issues. These issues included women’s rights, labor conditions, morality, and sexuality.

Fairies and elves played a foundational part in Irish, English, Scottish, and Welsh folklore—Rossetti and her readers were very acquainted with the tropes of fairy lore. Rossetti used the familiar fairy story structure to symbolize and discuss desire, exploitation, and mortality. Rossetti even uses the specific name goblin, a type of pan-British fair folk known for its cruel mischief-making (Chainey, Dee Dee. “Little People of the Land.” A Treasury of British Folklore, National Trust Books, London, 2018, p. 82).

Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” has many Northern European fairy lore hallmarks. At their core, these stories are about people’s supernatural encounters inevitably changing or separating them from other humans. In a classic Irish myth, the mortal Oisín travels to the metaphysical Otherworld to marry the divine Niamh. When Oisín returns to visit his family, he discovers centuries have passed since he left. When he gets off his enchanted horse, the young Oisín ages into a skeletal, white-haired senior and loses his way back to the Otherworld (O’Faoláin Eileen. “In the Time of Finn and the Fianna.” Irish Sagas and Folk Tales, Oxford University Press, London, 1954, pp. 163-174). Likewise, Laura loses track of time while with the goblins.

The rapid aging and quick death reappear in later folklore, where young girls die from pining to hear a fairy’s song again. In Changeling stories, a fairy doubleganger, frequently sicklier, replaces a person. And in other stories, girls pine themselves to death after hearing a fairy’s song. While the goblins do not replace Laura with one of their own, her illness after eating the fruit resonates with the trope. Laura’s illness ages her, her hair turning grey and her body decaying. She becomes like Oisín. Another parallel between Oisín and Laura is that she cannot find the goblins again after her initial purchase.

Once people fell into their clutches, the Fair Folk often used food to ensnare them permanently. “Eat no food, and drink no wine, or you will never reach your home again,” warns the folktale “The Fairy Dance” (Wilde, Jane Francesca. “The Fairy Dance.” Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland, Ticknor and Co., Publishers, Boston, MA, 1887, pp. 54-57. Library Ireland).

Some say food changes humans into fairies who must live with the fae forever (Evans-Wentz, W. Y. The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries. Oxford University Press, 1911). Laura mentally becomes trapped after eating the goblin’s goods. She spends her days in “an absent dream” and “longing” to try the fruit again (Lines 211, 214).

Laura dreams of the goblins long after her encounter, just as the protagonist in “The Fairy Dance” still hears the fairies’ music after successfully escaping them (Wilde).

Rescuing loved ones is another reoccurring plot point in tales of the Fair Folk. In the 16th-century Scottish Border ballad Tam Lin, the heroine Janet must free her lover from the Faerie Queen. Like Lizzie, Janet endured physical danger—holding onto her lover as he transformed into dangerous animals—to break the enchantment. Another folktale, “The Stolen Bairn and the Sìdh,” features a mother journeying to Sìdhean and outsmarting the Sìdh who took her baby (Ragan, Kathleen, editor. “The Stolen Bairn and the Sìdh.” Fearless Girls, Wise Women, & Beloved Sisters, W. W. Norton, New York City, NY, 1998, pp. 3-10).

Lizzie’s method of rescuing Laura mirrors the rescue in “The Fairy Dance.” Lizzie and the protagonist in “The Fairy Dance” refuse to consume anything. They keep their mouths shut when their foes smash the edibles against their faces. Both women take a magical substance back to break the fairies’ spell (Wilde).

Historical Context: The Fallen Woman Archetype

Rossetti drew inspiration from her work with women staying at the St. Mary Magdalene house. The house aimed to give women, especially sex workers, the tools for “respectable” employment and domestic life. The house emphasized education and religious worship rather than physical labor as a form of atonement.

The Fallen Woman became a political symbol and trope during the Victorian era. In these narratives, the Fallen Woman was forced into sex work, usually due to impoverishment. Men romanticized the Fallen Woman, viewing themselves as her savior. Upper-class men increasingly visited brothels in search of their “damsel.” However, their saviorism proved shallow and half-hearted. These men rarely ever actualized on their romantic fantasies outside of the client-provider setting. By the logic of the Fallen Woman trope, marriage would provide women with enough financial stability to leave the trade. Most men feared and avoided marrying sex workers as it would ruin their reputation. It created a paradox: Society created the circumstances and demand for sex workers, only to then punish these women for choosing the job.

Besides the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy, women also had to navigate the laws. The first Contagious Diseases Acts in 1964 required female sex workers to submit to an invasive examination of their genitals for disease by police. Men were exempt, even though homecoming soldiers were responsible for introducing and spreading STDs. The government was also partially to blame: British soldiers, for instance, were banned from using condoms or marrying while touring (Silvis).

The law gave officers the power to determine who was or was not a sex worker. Because there was no set definition for sex work, police could target any woman. If they refused the examination, they faced jail time or hard labor. Anyone who tested positive had to stay at a “lock hospital” until doctors called them “clean” (Policy Navigator).

“Goblin Market” re-produces this dynamic. The goblins offer Laura an opportunity, which outwardly benefits both parties. However, they throw her away after they get what they want from her. Laura ends up metaphorically carrying the stigma. She does not matter to the goblins, who have done this to other women before and will continue doing it. Laura’s illness hinders her abilities, just as stigma made it hard for women accused of sex work to re-enter society. A previous victim’s grave is still marred by the goblins’ spell.

While the goblins escape justice, Rossetti does not shame her women. Lizzie still mourns Jeanie, taking time to beautify her grave. She thinks about the life Jeanie should have had. Meanwhile, the side-effects of Laura’s withdrawal are distributing: “Her hair grew thin and grey; / She dwindled, as the fair full moon doth turn / To swift decay and burn,” writes Rossetti (Lines 277-79). Her eyes sink and her mouth fades, her whole body becoming arid as a desert. However, Rossetti does not call Laura vile or relish in her downfall. She instead foregrounds Laura’s desperation, the loss of her vitality, and Lizzie’s worry. The reader can even understand why Laura would be tempted by the fruit thanks to Rossetti’s lush descriptions.

Like with her work at the St. Mary Magdalene house, it is an act of faith and love that saves Laura’s life and Jeanie’s legacy. Lizzie’s decision to confront the goblins succeeds due to her restraint and patience. Self-control was an important value among Victorian Christians. Her moral staunchness against goblins mirrors the Victorian belief that women were naturally more morally superior to men (Hughes).

However, Lizzie is not frail like the idealized Victorian woman. She visits a group of men without an older female chaperone and willingly withstands physical assault (Hughes). It is her love and concern for Laura that gives Lizzie the will to endure. Her faith in love wins over her fear.

Rossetti places redemption outside of heterosexual and patriarchal relationships, choosing to show both women as active participants in their fates. While Laura is victimized, her decision to eat the fruit was not a last resort. While Rossetti still looks down on sex work and pre-marital sex, she portrays sexually active/curious women as fully rounded human beings capable of growth, sympathy, and respect.

Historical Context: Unregulated Food and Industrialization

“Goblin Market” shows The British Romantic movement’s lasting influence. The Romantic movement ran roughly from the 1770s to the mid-18th century. While not a formal or casual group, the writers and artists shared a love of nature. They celebrated pastoral life and farming communities while shunning the Industrial Revolution. This period shifted communities and economic hubs from agricultural to urban. Rapid technological advances allowed businesses to mass manufacture products, often at the expense of their workers and the environment. The British Empire continued invading and colonizing countries, bringing back their natural resources to develop new goods and technological aid. There were barely any laws to protect workers and consumers.

The lackadaisical and even malicious approach to safety extended to the food industry. The demand for food increased with the boom in urban populations. Food manufacturers added substances to their products to save money and increase their profits, a process called adulteration (Lipscomb, Suzannah. “10 Dangerous Things in Victorian/Edwardian Homes.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Dec. 2013).

These substances made food larger, last longer, and more visually palatable. However, it made people ill. Manufacturers used toxic ingredients like lead, strychnine, and mercury. Food adulteration became an open secret. Magazines even satirized it in cartoons.

Exploitation, profiteering, and trickery run throughout “Goblin Market.” Most critics have focused on its inspiration from the dangers of Victorian-era sex work. However, it is also possible to read Laura as a stand-in for general consumers (Greenberg). She hears the promise of exciting fruits, only to get sick. The goblins disappear. Not only can she no longer buy from them, but she also cannot go to hold them accountable. When Lizzie shows up, they still obscure any potential dangers. As the reader learns from Jeanie’s story, the goblins have a long history of lying and endangerment. Like food manufacturers, the goblins know the dangers of their food but continue to market and earn revenue from it.

Even Lizzie’s warning centers on the foods’ uncertain origins (Greenberg). Many food manufacturers did not use labels or list ingredients, obscuring their origins and making it hard for consumers to buy safely (Greenberg).

Rossetti, drawing from the Romantic tradition, contrasts the goblins’ food from faraway places with the sisters’ homegrown food (Greenberg). The girls know the exact origins of their milk and honey. They own the animals and harvest their byproducts. By the poem’s end, Rossetti leaves readers with the assumption that the sisters remain self-reliant and rural. She mentions their husbands and children, but not if they moved out of the area. Laura warns her children about the goblin market, which implies they remain near their girlhood home.

At face value, “Goblin Market” urges people to avoid foods they did not make themselves. On a deeper level, it exposes greed and callousness. Whether it is about food adulteration or sexual coercion, “Goblin Market” boils down to one of the era’s major crises: the willful deception and use of people at their expense.