all the bright magic of the fairy tale [essay]
Writing this essay was supposed to make me acquire the skills for writing effectively in a variety of contexts, and appreciate the style of argumentative writing appropriate at university level (module title? Writing with style!). Free reign was given as to how general or detailed the essay could be, so I chose to compare the given text ('Goblin Market') with fairy tales, more specifically 'Red Riding Hood'.
All The Bright Magic Of The Fairy Tale
*
Explore the effects of ambiguity in Christina Rossetti's poem, 'Goblin Market'.
Looking at 'Goblin Market', it becomes clear that there are two ways of reading the poem. Superficially, it resembles in shape and form a nursery rhyme or a fairy tale, but a closer reading may reveal that there is a more sinister side to the story. What is significant in these terms is that Christina Rossetti's poem effectively serves the same purpose that many folkloristic fairy tales of old did in their own time and, broadly speaking, still do. They tell a story and, at the same time, warn the readers against the world, teaching and instructing them on how to behave. 'Goblin Market' is no exception, but it is Rossetti's unique use of language and rhythm that puts the lighter side of the poem with the darker one into direct contrast.
The striking difference between the two readings of the poem is exemplified by Jeanie's misfortune (ll. 312-315) [1]. The passage bears the question of what the 'joys a bride hopes to have' are and is closely linked with the prolonged assault of the goblin men on Lizzie (ll. 390-436). The words used to describe the act, especially in 'Tore her gown and soiled her stocking' and 'Held her hands and squeezed their fruits / Against her mouth to make her eat', seem to imply that Lizzie is not being forced to eat so much as she is being sexually violated. Despite these apparently overt undertones of the poem, 'Goblin Market' was seen as a plain children's tale for a long time and it is still possible to understand it as such [2]. It is, therefore, open to interpretation if both examples in the poem do not merely illustrate the outcome of dealing with goblins. As 'Goblin Market' appears to be set in a fantasy world, it stands to reason that the events recounted are part of a fantastical, fictional tale and should be read as such.
The fantasy setting is not the only feature that the poem shares with fairy tales, for 'Goblin Market' also avails itself of an omniscient third-person narrator. This external point of view, rarely passing judgement on the characters or the world around them, is widespread in the narration of fables and nursery rhymes alike. In addition, the nursery rhyme impression is reinforced by a consistency of rhythm throughout the poem; its effect is immediately discernible. The irregular rhyme scheme relies on words of similar sound and on the repetition of phrases or set of words (e.g. 'Come buy, come buy') and is most effective when the poem is read aloud [3]. Furthermore, 'Goblin Market' follows the fixed structure of 'The Hero's Journey' outlined by Joseph Campbell - departure, initiation, and return [4]. The poem introduces two heroines, who interfere with the status quo by meddling with the goblins and, as a result, are initiated to the fruit that led Jeanie to her untimely death, but by standing united the two sisters succeed in returning to their simple lives, wiser of the ways of the world. Finally, the final formula (ll. 562-567) calls to mind the ever-present moral in Charles Perrault's version of the classic fairy tales; the poetic closure is then the unambiguous celebration of sisters as the most reliable of friends.
The resemblance of 'Goblin Market' to a classic fairy tale will appear more pronounced in comparison with other works, such as 'Little Red Riding-Hood', which also can be read on two different levels. Initially, the story appears to be the candid adventure of a young girl who falls into the trap of the cunning wolf, but at the end of the fairy tale we find its moral.
Little girls, this seems to say, Never stop upon your way,
Never trust a stranger-friend; No one knows how it will end.
As you're pretty so be wise; Wolves may lurk in every guise.
Handsome they may be, and kind,
Gay, and charming never mind!
Now, as then, 'tis simple truth
Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth! [5]
This final formula invites a more mature reading, as the one suggested by Angela Carter in The Bloody Chamber, and further analysed by Catherine Orenstein [6]. Such a reading exposes a metaphor for the transition between childhood and womanhood, singularly symbolised in 'Little Red Riding Hood' by the colour red. Red also features in 'Goblin Market' as the main colour of the fruit sold by the goblin men - apples, cherries, raspberries, peaches, cranberries, crab-apples, strawberries, pomegranates, currants, and barberries (ll. 5-27). Mentions of sunsets, flames, and torches, of wine and grapes are interspersed in the poem. The connotations of the colour are more ambiguous in 'Goblin Market' than in Carter's rendering of 'Little Red Riding-Hood'. It is unclear whether Rossetti intends the reader to associate the colour with the menstrual blood of coming into womanhood, as is the case in the classic fairy tale, or with the spilt blood of sexual intercourse or rape. The assault of the goblins on Lizzie hints at the latter interpretation, whereas the married status of the sisters at the end of the poem implies the former. The ambiguity of the message is given by Rossetti's choice of words throughout the poem - from the characteristics of the fruit itself, which is 'plump unpecked', 'bloom-down-cheeked', 'full and fine', and 'sweet to tongue and sound to eye' (ll. 7-30), to the detailed description of Lizzie's stoic resistance to the goblins, where she is described as 'a royal virgin town' (l. 418).
Yet, Rossetti's distinctive style makes it difficult to dismiss 'Goblin Market' as a children's tale; the learned references hidden in the poem entail a learned reading. The trade of Laura's golden curl for the goblin fruit echoes Alexander Pope's 'The Rape of the Lock' and Laura's punishment for tasting the fruit comes across as an allusion to the 'Genesis'. Pomegranates (ll. 21, 362) evoke the tale of Persephone, a Greek myth Rossetti must have been familiar with [7]. The abundance of allusions and messages in 'Goblin Market' is in tune with the Victorian approach to children's literature. Jack Zipes claims that although fairy tales of the time 'were contradictory, they opened up possibilities for children and adults to formulate innovative views about socialisation, [...] sex roles, and art' [8]. Sobriety, sense, diligence, and compassion were the celebrated values and Lizzie's characterisation encompasses all of these qualities. Her sister, on the other hand, is a portrayal of all that was deemed wicked and morally wrong by the Victorians. Nevertheless, it could be argued that Rossetti's intent was to challenge the standards of her society, by exploiting the safe grounds of storytelling to deliver a tale that is suggestive and innocent at the same time [9].
As this last point suggests, 'Goblin Market' is Lizzie's story as much as it is Laura's story; there is not one single protagonist. The two sisters mirror the two levels that the poem can be read on; the ambivalence of the tale is the essence of tale itself. On the one hand, in fairy tales like 'Little Red Riding Hood', a moral or a more modern reading is needed to uncover the double meaning of the classic story. On the other hand, 'Goblin Market' is openly ambiguous, forcing the reader to second-guess the author with every line. The way Rossetti plays with language is subtle, yet explicit, and it discloses a parallel between the interpretations of the poem and the fates of Lizzie and Laura. At the end of the tale, both sisters emerge victorious from their trials; Laura is not abandoned because she was tempted and fell, but Lizzie is not unduly praised because she defied the goblin men. Likewise, the poem is simultaneously a rhyming fairy tale and a sinister story with sexual connotations because a careful analysis reveals that the text does not favour one interpretation over the other. In the words of W. M. Rossetti, 'the poem has not any profound or ulterior meaning - it is just a fairy story' [10] and, as the comparison 'Little Red Riding Hood' has shown, there is more to fairy tales than meets the eye.
*
Footnotes.
[1] Christina Rossetti, 'RPO - Christina Rossetti: Goblin Market' [10th December 2010], and all subsequent references.
[2] Kathleen Jones, Learning Not To Be First: A Biography of Christina Rossetti (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 91.
[3] Jane Aker, 'LoudLit.org: Collection: 'Goblin Market' [10th December 2010].
[4] Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (New York: Pantheon Books, 2008), chapters I-II-III.
[5] Rhyming moral as first translated by S. R. Littlewood and reproduced in A. E. Johnson, Perrault's Fairy Tales (New York: Dover Publications, 1969), p. 29.
[6] Catherine Orenstein, Little Little Red Riding-Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale (New York: Basic Books, 2003), pp. 165-9.
[7] cf. Proserpine (1873-1877, Tate Gallery, London) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; the painting shows the goddess holding a pomegranate.
[8] Jack Zipes, Victorian Fairy Tales (New York: Methuen, 1987), p. xxix.
[9] For more information on this subject, see Ibid.
[10] William Michael Rossetti quoted in Mackenzie Bell, Christina Rossetti (BiblioLife, LLC, 2009), and retrieved via 'RPO - Christina Rossetti: Goblin Market' [10th December 2010].
Word Count: 1509/1500.
Mark - Grade: 78% - A
All The Bright Magic Of The Fairy Tale
*
Explore the effects of ambiguity in Christina Rossetti's poem, 'Goblin Market'.
Looking at 'Goblin Market', it becomes clear that there are two ways of reading the poem. Superficially, it resembles in shape and form a nursery rhyme or a fairy tale, but a closer reading may reveal that there is a more sinister side to the story. What is significant in these terms is that Christina Rossetti's poem effectively serves the same purpose that many folkloristic fairy tales of old did in their own time and, broadly speaking, still do. They tell a story and, at the same time, warn the readers against the world, teaching and instructing them on how to behave. 'Goblin Market' is no exception, but it is Rossetti's unique use of language and rhythm that puts the lighter side of the poem with the darker one into direct contrast.
The striking difference between the two readings of the poem is exemplified by Jeanie's misfortune (ll. 312-315) [1]. The passage bears the question of what the 'joys a bride hopes to have' are and is closely linked with the prolonged assault of the goblin men on Lizzie (ll. 390-436). The words used to describe the act, especially in 'Tore her gown and soiled her stocking' and 'Held her hands and squeezed their fruits / Against her mouth to make her eat', seem to imply that Lizzie is not being forced to eat so much as she is being sexually violated. Despite these apparently overt undertones of the poem, 'Goblin Market' was seen as a plain children's tale for a long time and it is still possible to understand it as such [2]. It is, therefore, open to interpretation if both examples in the poem do not merely illustrate the outcome of dealing with goblins. As 'Goblin Market' appears to be set in a fantasy world, it stands to reason that the events recounted are part of a fantastical, fictional tale and should be read as such.
The fantasy setting is not the only feature that the poem shares with fairy tales, for 'Goblin Market' also avails itself of an omniscient third-person narrator. This external point of view, rarely passing judgement on the characters or the world around them, is widespread in the narration of fables and nursery rhymes alike. In addition, the nursery rhyme impression is reinforced by a consistency of rhythm throughout the poem; its effect is immediately discernible. The irregular rhyme scheme relies on words of similar sound and on the repetition of phrases or set of words (e.g. 'Come buy, come buy') and is most effective when the poem is read aloud [3]. Furthermore, 'Goblin Market' follows the fixed structure of 'The Hero's Journey' outlined by Joseph Campbell - departure, initiation, and return [4]. The poem introduces two heroines, who interfere with the status quo by meddling with the goblins and, as a result, are initiated to the fruit that led Jeanie to her untimely death, but by standing united the two sisters succeed in returning to their simple lives, wiser of the ways of the world. Finally, the final formula (ll. 562-567) calls to mind the ever-present moral in Charles Perrault's version of the classic fairy tales; the poetic closure is then the unambiguous celebration of sisters as the most reliable of friends.
The resemblance of 'Goblin Market' to a classic fairy tale will appear more pronounced in comparison with other works, such as 'Little Red Riding-Hood', which also can be read on two different levels. Initially, the story appears to be the candid adventure of a young girl who falls into the trap of the cunning wolf, but at the end of the fairy tale we find its moral.
Little girls, this seems to say, Never stop upon your way,
Never trust a stranger-friend; No one knows how it will end.
As you're pretty so be wise; Wolves may lurk in every guise.
Handsome they may be, and kind,
Gay, and charming never mind!
Now, as then, 'tis simple truth
Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth! [5]
This final formula invites a more mature reading, as the one suggested by Angela Carter in The Bloody Chamber, and further analysed by Catherine Orenstein [6]. Such a reading exposes a metaphor for the transition between childhood and womanhood, singularly symbolised in 'Little Red Riding Hood' by the colour red. Red also features in 'Goblin Market' as the main colour of the fruit sold by the goblin men - apples, cherries, raspberries, peaches, cranberries, crab-apples, strawberries, pomegranates, currants, and barberries (ll. 5-27). Mentions of sunsets, flames, and torches, of wine and grapes are interspersed in the poem. The connotations of the colour are more ambiguous in 'Goblin Market' than in Carter's rendering of 'Little Red Riding-Hood'. It is unclear whether Rossetti intends the reader to associate the colour with the menstrual blood of coming into womanhood, as is the case in the classic fairy tale, or with the spilt blood of sexual intercourse or rape. The assault of the goblins on Lizzie hints at the latter interpretation, whereas the married status of the sisters at the end of the poem implies the former. The ambiguity of the message is given by Rossetti's choice of words throughout the poem - from the characteristics of the fruit itself, which is 'plump unpecked', 'bloom-down-cheeked', 'full and fine', and 'sweet to tongue and sound to eye' (ll. 7-30), to the detailed description of Lizzie's stoic resistance to the goblins, where she is described as 'a royal virgin town' (l. 418).
Yet, Rossetti's distinctive style makes it difficult to dismiss 'Goblin Market' as a children's tale; the learned references hidden in the poem entail a learned reading. The trade of Laura's golden curl for the goblin fruit echoes Alexander Pope's 'The Rape of the Lock' and Laura's punishment for tasting the fruit comes across as an allusion to the 'Genesis'. Pomegranates (ll. 21, 362) evoke the tale of Persephone, a Greek myth Rossetti must have been familiar with [7]. The abundance of allusions and messages in 'Goblin Market' is in tune with the Victorian approach to children's literature. Jack Zipes claims that although fairy tales of the time 'were contradictory, they opened up possibilities for children and adults to formulate innovative views about socialisation, [...] sex roles, and art' [8]. Sobriety, sense, diligence, and compassion were the celebrated values and Lizzie's characterisation encompasses all of these qualities. Her sister, on the other hand, is a portrayal of all that was deemed wicked and morally wrong by the Victorians. Nevertheless, it could be argued that Rossetti's intent was to challenge the standards of her society, by exploiting the safe grounds of storytelling to deliver a tale that is suggestive and innocent at the same time [9].
As this last point suggests, 'Goblin Market' is Lizzie's story as much as it is Laura's story; there is not one single protagonist. The two sisters mirror the two levels that the poem can be read on; the ambivalence of the tale is the essence of tale itself. On the one hand, in fairy tales like 'Little Red Riding Hood', a moral or a more modern reading is needed to uncover the double meaning of the classic story. On the other hand, 'Goblin Market' is openly ambiguous, forcing the reader to second-guess the author with every line. The way Rossetti plays with language is subtle, yet explicit, and it discloses a parallel between the interpretations of the poem and the fates of Lizzie and Laura. At the end of the tale, both sisters emerge victorious from their trials; Laura is not abandoned because she was tempted and fell, but Lizzie is not unduly praised because she defied the goblin men. Likewise, the poem is simultaneously a rhyming fairy tale and a sinister story with sexual connotations because a careful analysis reveals that the text does not favour one interpretation over the other. In the words of W. M. Rossetti, 'the poem has not any profound or ulterior meaning - it is just a fairy story' [10] and, as the comparison 'Little Red Riding Hood' has shown, there is more to fairy tales than meets the eye.
*
Footnotes.
[1] Christina Rossetti, 'RPO - Christina Rossetti: Goblin Market' [10th December 2010], and all subsequent references.
[2] Kathleen Jones, Learning Not To Be First: A Biography of Christina Rossetti (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 91.
[3] Jane Aker, 'LoudLit.org: Collection: 'Goblin Market' [10th December 2010].
[4] Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (New York: Pantheon Books, 2008), chapters I-II-III.
[5] Rhyming moral as first translated by S. R. Littlewood and reproduced in A. E. Johnson, Perrault's Fairy Tales (New York: Dover Publications, 1969), p. 29.
[6] Catherine Orenstein, Little Little Red Riding-Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale (New York: Basic Books, 2003), pp. 165-9.
[7] cf. Proserpine (1873-1877, Tate Gallery, London) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; the painting shows the goddess holding a pomegranate.
[8] Jack Zipes, Victorian Fairy Tales (New York: Methuen, 1987), p. xxix.
[9] For more information on this subject, see Ibid.
[10] William Michael Rossetti quoted in Mackenzie Bell, Christina Rossetti (BiblioLife, LLC, 2009), and retrieved via 'RPO - Christina Rossetti: Goblin Market' [10th December 2010].
Word Count: 1509/1500.
Mark - Grade: 78% - A