Goblin Market Summary

'Goblin Market' centers on the conflict between temptation and innocence, embodied by the goblin men's enchanted fruits and the sisters Laura and Lizzie. Laura succumbs to the goblins' lures, eating their fruit and falling into a wasting sickness, while Lizzie bravely resists their enticements to save her sister.

Laura and Lizzie are sisters who live together. Laura is initially more curious and impulsive, yielding to the goblins' temptation and suffering the consequences. Lizzie is portrayed as more cautious and self-sacrificing, ultimately risking herself to acquire the antidote that saves Laura.

The goblin men are depicted as grotesque, animalistic figures who tempt maidens with an array of luscious, exotic fruits. Their market is a dangerous trap; while the fruit offers immediate pleasure, it is enchanted to cause a slow, agonizing death for those who partake, leaving them longing for more.

After eating the goblin fruit, Laura experiences an initial euphoria, followed by an insatiable craving for more. When she can no longer hear the goblins' calls or see their market, she begins to wither away, her hair greying, eyes dimming, and vitality draining, slowly succumbing to a fatal enchantment.

Lizzie attempts to rescue Laura by bravely going to the goblin market herself. She refuses to eat their fruit, instead offering money to buy some for her sister. When the goblins assault her, trying to force-feed her, she endures their abuse, allowing their fruit juices to cover her, which she then brings back to Laura as a 'cure.'

Jeanie serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating the fatal consequences of succumbing to the goblins' temptation. Her story reinforces the danger Laura faces, showing that those who eat the fruit and are then abandoned by the goblins waste away and die, emphasizing the urgency of Lizzie's rescue attempt.

The poem describes the goblins with animalistic features—rat-faced, cat-faced, snail-paced—suggesting a connection to the wild, untamed, and perhaps even demonic aspects of nature, rather than merely human merchants. Their magical fruit also hints at a supernatural, malevolent power beyond simple earthly trickery.

The Pre-Raphaelite illustrations often emphasize intricate detail, vibrant colors, and a blend of realism with symbolic or mythical elements. This style could heighten the poem's sensory descriptions, make the goblins appear more grotesquely vivid, and underscore the ethereal beauty and tragic fragility of Laura and Lizzie, intensifying the emotional impact and moral weight of the narrative.

Laura's initial desire for the fruit can be psychologically interpreted as a longing for forbidden pleasure, a curiosity about the unknown, or an expression of burgeoning sexuality repressed by Victorian societal norms. It represents a transgression of boundaries and a yearning for an experience outside of her sheltered existence.

Lizzie's self-sacrifice demonstrates immense psychological strength, characterized by courage, unwavering loyalty, and altruism. She overcomes fear for her own safety and endures physical and emotional abuse from the goblins, driven solely by her love and determination to save her sister, exemplifying the virtue of unconditional sisterly devotion.

Laura's 'wasting sickness' symbolizes not only physical decline but also profound psychological torment, including guilt, regret, and the anguish of unfulfilled desire. It represents a spiritual and emotional emptiness, a loss of innocence, and the destructive power of succumbing to temptation without redemption.

The sisters' bond and love serve as a powerful psychological counterpoint to the goblins' maliciousness by representing purity, selflessness, and restorative healing. While the goblins offer destructive, selfish pleasure, Laura and Lizzie's relationship demonstrates the redemptive and life-affirming power of familial love and mutual support, contrasting corruption with enduring virtue.

While 'Goblin Market' certainly functions as an allegory for the dangers of illicit desire, its portrayal of Lizzie's self-sacrifice and Laura's subsequent redemption suggests a more nuanced view. It doesn't merely condemn temptation but also explores the transformative power of sisterly love and the possibility of salvation even after profound transgression, moving beyond simple moralizing.

The ending, with Laura and Lizzie telling their children the tale, reinterprets their past experiences as a didactic lesson about the enduring strength of sisterly love and the perils of temptation. It frames their ordeal not as a shameful secret, but as a testament to redemption and the protective power of family, passing on wisdom to future generations.

Interpretations viewing the fruit as a metaphor for drugs or prostitution align well with the poem's themes of irresistible temptation, fleeting pleasure, subsequent addiction/ruin, and societal ostracism/decline. Laura's craving and wasting sickness mirror addiction, while the gobl's predatory nature and the 'forbidden' aspect of the fruit resonate with the dangers associated with prostitution in Victorian society.

The poem's setting, oscillating between the domestic safety of the sisters' home and the wild, liminal space of the goblin market, is highly significant. The natural landscape is ambiguous; it provides sustenance but also harbors the dangerous, unnatural goblins. This duality emphasizes the ever-present threat of temptation lurking just beyond the boundaries of innocence and civilization, making the sisters' journey a moral one through a landscape reflecting inner states.

Yes, 'Goblin Market' can be read as a feminist text. It critiques Victorian expectations by showing women's vulnerability to predatory forces and the societal consequences of 'fallen' women (Laura's decline mirroring social ruin). However, it also empowers women through Lizzie's agency and self-sacrifice, highlighting female solidarity and the strength of sisterhood as a means of survival and redemption outside of traditional male intervention.

The poem's vivid sensory imagery—the luscious descriptions of the fruit, the grotesque appearances of the goblins, the taste of the 'honey-sweet' fruit, and the physical decline of Laura—immerses the reader in the experience. This rich detail amplifies the allure of temptation, the horror of its consequences, and the visceral nature of Lizzie's sacrifice, deepening the emotional and thematic impact of pleasure, pain, and redemption.