Priscilla's Essay
From English 194 Wiki
A Sister and a Lesson
A strong bond between two individuals, like that of two sisters, is one that should be cherished and wholly appreciated especially if one undergoes a self-sacrificing task for the sake of the other. In Christina Rossetti’s poem, Goblin Market, the two sisters, Lizzie and Laura, are characterized with such likeness that they are basically two persons in one. However, with temptation lurking nearby, Laura is easily led astray from her sister and is enticed by the variety of fruit the goblin men have to offer. Lizzie, witnessing her sister degenerate, goes to the goblin market and almost sacrifices her own life in order to save her sister. The theme of variety conveyed in the poem creates an environment in which temptation is unavoidable and easy to yield to for one sister. However, the variety and list format of the poem serves as a means of understanding the bond between the two sisters and conveys the message that nothing can or should disintegrate the bond between them. The experience gained in a traumatic experience also results in the creation of an even stronger bond with an equally strong story to accompany it.
The pleasure to choose out of a variety of options can be an overwhelming yet desirous notion which is exemplified by Laura and her attraction towards the fruit the goblin men offer. From the beginning of the poem, the long list of fruit enthralls one of the sisters easily because of its vast selection. The fruit list begins with, “Apples and quinces, / Lemons and oranges, / Plump unpecked cherries, / Melons and raspberries, / Bloom-down-cheeked peaches…” (ll. 5-9) and continues listing well on to the next several lines. It is important that none of the fruit is repeated, helping display the extreme variety that captivates and makes her eager to try as many as she can. With this intense list of fruit, it can become understanding as to how having such a large assortment available will make one lose focus and want to eat as much as possible. The poem seems to play on the fact that temptation is created by having so many options available that it becomes hard to ignore and dismiss it completely.
The theme of variety is not only conveyed by listing the fruit, but also conveyed in the variety of descriptions the goblin men can have, symbolizing the negative aspect of variety. The poem describes the different goblin men with different features, “One had a cat’s face, / One whisked a tail, / One tramped at a rat’s pace, / One crawled like a snail, / One like a wombat prowled obtuse and furry” (ll. 71-75). The different features the goblin men have display a sense of variety; however, since it is applied towards them, it seems as if we lose focus to their true dark identities. Since variety brings enticement and attraction to the different possibilities, it becomes difficult to remember the negative and harm that they bring. It is as if the diversity distracts the mind from the truth and creates a fog that prevents the ability to think clearly. This is probably why Laura succumbs to the variety of goblin men and their fruit so easily.
The notion of being one being enraptured by all the fruit that he/she is willing to give up almost anything, is seen in the business transaction done by Laura. When Laura sees all the fruit that the goblins have to offer, without contemplation, she pays with a lock of her hair. Laura’s eagerness is displayed in the conversation she has with the goblin men, “But sweet-tooth Laura spoke in haste: ‘Good folk, I have no coin…” (ll. 115-116). Soon afterwards, the goblin men make the suggestion to Laura that she can pay with a “golden curl,” and without any hesitation, she clips a lock in order to receive the fruit she yearns for. The lock of hair that Laura willingly gives not only symbolizes self sacrificial form of payment, but the transaction also displays her inability to think logically. Laura is quite possibly within a haze by all the fruit available, and becomes extremely eager to enjoy as much of the fruit it as she possibly can. Despite her moment of sadness in exchanging the curl for the fruit, “She clipped a precious golden lock,” and “She dropped a tear more rare than pearl,” (126-127) Laura is not concerned with the ramifications, so long as she receives her fruit.
The poem really shows how the bombardment of variety can have an effect, on an individual witnessing it. The rhyme scheme of the poem, or arguably, the lack of the rhyme scheme, displays the form of variety. This section of the poem does not have a solid pattern in the rhyme scheme, or when it seems as if a pattern can be distinguished, it shifts into something other than the preconceived rhyme:
Backwards up the mossy glen
Turned and trooped the goblin men
With their shrill repeated cry
“Come buy, come buy.”
....................
Leering at each other
Brother with queer brother;
Signaling each other,
Brother with sly brother.
One set his basket down,
One reared his plate;
One began to weave a crown
In this section of the poem the rhyme appears to follow the rhyme scheme of aa, bb, and cc. However, lines 93-97 mislead the initial pattern and changes into dd, dd, ef, ee, ee. Through out the poem, the same incidence happens. The rhyme scheme is difficult to discern and creates a variety in rhymes. It is as if the rhyme attempts to display the entertainment variety can give. As a reader, one is tempted to continue with the strange rhyme of the poem providing a pleasing sound. In fact, it actually a challenge to say some of the lines that contain this varied rhyme quality.
The board game Escape from Goblin Market at UCSB touches on the variety of the rhyme with its tongue twister-like segment integrated in the board game. In certain sections of the board game, there are spaces marked, “Word Challenge,” in which players challenge each other in reciting a series of lines directly from Goblin Market. The challenge also involves the ability of the player to recite the lies without err in a given amount of time and the player that achieves the fastest time wins the challenge. This challenge exemplifies the idea that the rhyme of the poem is not fully developed because of the challenge created in saying those lines. As soon as the speaker believes he or she has obtained the pattern of the lines, another line with a seemingly different rhyme structure, can actually entangle the speaker’s tongue and result in an error. Also, this portion of the board game reveals the enticing effect of the poem’s rhyme because the challenge is really a way of forming a means of temptation in participating in the challenge or not.
The allure produced by having the variety of fruit, goblin men, rhyme, and other elements available, creates the illusion that an assortment is actually the best thing that one can imagine. It is almost as if the overwhelming amount of different fruits and goblins easily distracts the victim from the truth. Before Lizzie runs away while covering her eyes from the array of fruit and plugging her ears to avoid the chants from the goblin men, she warns Laura, “Their offers should not charm us, / Their evil gifts would harm us. / She thrust a dimpled finger / In each ear, shut eyes and ran…” (ll. 65-66). Before becoming distracted as Laura does with the goblin men’s fruit, Lizzie has the ability to deliberate with a mind free from the overwhelming assortment of fruit. She is also wise enough to understand what can occur if one should give into the fruit. Lizzie preparing herself by covering her eyes and ears reveals a sense of distraction from thinking logically. It implies that she too is susceptible to the array offered.
Although Laura receives the warnings from her sister Lizzie, she cannot avoid the distraction that the variety provides, and as she enjoys the fruit, it is seem like it overwhelms her. As Laura consumes the fruit, we are informed that, “She never tasted such before,” and the lines ask, “How should it cloy with length of use?” (ll. 132-133). It appears like these are the thoughts that in Lizzie’s mind as she devours the fruit. The fruit exceeds in taste and becomes so satisfying that the thoughts of Laura, Jeanie, and the consequences subsequently vanish. Laura is completely intoxicated with the fruit and cannot get enough especially since she “She sucked and sucked and sucked the more / Fruits which that unknown orchard bore; / She sucked until her lips were sore” (ll.132-135). The effects of variety are conveyed within this portion of the poem as Lizzie becomes engrossed with the appetizing fruit. The repetition of “sucked” displays Lizzie’s desire to gain as much as she possibly can from all the fruit available and to consume the array of fruit until her lips are sore. If it were not for the pain felt on her lips, shows that she could continue, displaying the strong effect of the variety has on her.
After Laura has eaten the fruit, Lizzie reminds her of the story of Jeanie that she should know and remember. As Lizzie asks her sister, “Do you not remember Jeanie [?]” (ll.147) it is astonishing to Lizzie that her sister should forget in the first place. This moment implies that it would be very unlike Laura to forget the important lesson the story of Jeanie contains and that something quite eerie must have happened to her in order for her completely dismiss Jeanie. Also, Jeanie’s death and its aftermath is something that one should never forget which Lizzie explains, “While to this day no grass will grow / Where she lies low: / I planted daisies there a year ago / That never blow” (ll. 158-161). Lizzie gives these warnings to her sister but it is too late, Laura is still struck with the deliciousness of the fruit and it is already affecting her, especially in the moment right after eating the fruit. Laura soon becomes as hypnotizing as the goblin men are when they cry “come buy, come buy” and she tries to persuade her sister about the delicious fruit of the goblin men, “Tomorrow night I will / Buy more… / Have done with sorrow; I will bring you plums tomorrow” Laura says assuming that she can influence her persevering sister.
Compared to Laura, Lizze provides a good example of one who does not give in to the strength and the distraction that the idea behind variety causes. When Lizzie needs to confront the goblin men in order to save her sister, she experiences an attack that is conveyed chaotically. During the attack, Lizzie is described as, “White and golden … / Like a lily in a flood, — / Like a rock of blue-veined stone / Lashed by tides obstreperously, — / Like a beacon left alone / In a hoary roaring sea” (ll. 409-413). These similes provide a descriptive image of Lizzie’s struggle against the barrage of goblin men. The different comparisons produced for Lizzie also shows her strength within the attack scene. All the objects Lizzie is compared to are serene exhibiting her calm composure in a sea of chaos. Not only does this display Lizzie’s composure, but it also displays the extent of what she is willing to endure for the sake of her sister’s life. What seems to be a series of attacks due to the many similes supplied, we see Lizzie maintain her loyalty towards Laura. Since Laura and Lizzie are described so similarly, we learn through Laura Lizzie’s possibility of actually fighting against the goblin men. Laura soon learns these valuable lessons from her sister’s courageous effort against the goblin men.
Although Lizzie uses the story of Jeanie to warn her sister about the evils of the goblin men and their fruit, it is not enough to make her stay away from them. It is almost as if Laura needs a stronger story to make her stay away, and the experience that her and her sister go through, is strong enough. When Laura learns about her sister’s journey through the goblin market she asks, “‘Lizzie, Lizzie, have you tasted / For my sake the fruit forbidden? / Must your light like mine be hidden / Your young life like mine be wasted, / Undone in mine undoing…” (ll. 478-482). Laura is astonished at the fact that her sister had practically sacrificed herself and has almost become “undone” in Laura’s own “undoing.” Through Laura’s bewilderment of her sister’s tribulations we see that she has finally learned a strong lesson, especially since it contains a personal account. The story of Jeanie is too far detached for Laura to carry any significance and credibility, instead, her personal encounter with the goblin and her sister’s display of love make the experience one she should never forget.
After kissing the fruit juices off of Laura, she displays the strength in the sisters’ bond, especially since the theme of variety usually found in the poem diminishes. The lines of the poem no longer contain the long lists displayed through out the poem as if the chaos that they bring has been calmed. The diminished variety is seen in the embrace shared between the two sisters after Laura’s restoration, “Laura awoke as from a dream, / Laughed in the innocent old way, / Hugged Lizzie but not twice or thrice” (ll. 537-539). There is a degree of importance in sharing that the sisters did not embrace more than two or three times, displaying that one is more powerful and sufficient. This moment demonstrates the fact that a large quantity is not needed to make something more alluring. If there had been a variety found in their embrace, it would seem like its meaning and importance would decline. One hug is sufficient to also convey the love that they have for each other. The entire experience boiled down to this happy which is enough to make Laura aware of the value in the lesson that is learned.
The lesson from this experience is so strong that Laura keeps it close to her heart no matter the amount of time that passes. The poem shares that after, “Days, weeks, months, years” (l. 543) the two sisters, now mothers make it their responsibility to pass on this important story. Laura tells her children and her nieces and nephews about “her early prime” and “The wicked, quaint fruit-merchant men, / Their fruits like honey to the throat / But poison in blood; …../ Would tell them how her sister stood / In deadly peril to do her good” (ll. 549-555). As time went on, Laura has still kept the story close to heart and has not lost the very important and valuable lesson she gained from it. She now shows her understanding of the evil that occurs by consuming the goblin fruit and that although it may be the most fascinating thing to taste, it is actually “poison in blood.” Laura’s rendition of the story is more valuable than the story of Jeanie not only because of her personal experience, but because of another lesson gained.
Although Laura warns the young children about the goblin men and their fruit, she shares the other important feature of the story which tells them to not stray away from a loved one, like a sister because, “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’” (562-67). In the concluding stanza of the poem, a list reemerges but it is not to indicate any form of an excessive variety of chaos, instead it serves as the harsh truth that all this could possibly occur once again. This stanza in a list format can also serve as a way of gaining the full attention of the young in order to capture the most important lesson of staying close to each other and taking care of each other.
Throughout the poem, the long listed details of the variety of fruit, goblins, and similes for the sisters provide a form of entertainment. However, the lists full of variety only create harm with their hypnotizing effects on one of the two sisters because of the immense variety. Although the poem utilized lists as a means of conveying the dangerous effect of too much information incoming on a sister at once, it eventually creates a valuable lesson. Thanks to Lizzie’s ability to withstand the goblin men and the theme of variety associated with them, a new and better lesson is formed. Now, the story can be carried through out the generations of sisters to remain loyal to one another because there is truly nothing that can compromise such a unique union.
