A Poem Of Bitter Repression Essay Research — страница 3

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whether we take it to represent an actual physical assault or the more widespread and intense pressure placed on women to conform matters not: Lizzie is clearly not refusing something which is desirable in the eyes of the author. This attitude towards men who won~t take no for an answer can be seen in Rossetti’s mocking No, Thank You,John (1859), where the female speaker of the poem is making it clear in what might well then have been considered very ~’ ,. unladylike tones that she is not interested in his repeated advances: Rise above Quibbles and shuffling off and on: Here’s friendship for you if you like; but love,- No, thank you, John. (29-32) The sisters are free before the goblins come along-the only domesticity is that which they choose and do for themselves. Rather

than being returned to a situation of repression, when Laura is saved by Lizzie she is described in glorious terms as being: Like a caged thing freed, Or like a flying flag when armies run. (505-6) As a fantasy of feminine freedom and self-sufficiency Goblin Market is very powerful; Laura and Lizzie live alone, provide for all their own needs and are happy doing so: theirs is a picture of domestic bliss of the best kind. They have succeeded in creating a space outside patriarchy~ for themselves. Their world is completely free of any male influence and when the goblins appear chaos ensues-they are a threat to the harmony in which the sisters live. They appear to have been perfectly happy before the arrival of the goblin men and do not seem to have felt they lacked anything: Laura

rose with Lizzie: Fetched in honey, milked the cows, Aired and set to rights the house, Kneaded cakes of whitest wheat, Cakes for dainty mouths to eat, (202-6) ~ The sisters are portrayed as being in harmony with nature: Wind sang to them lullaby, Lumbering owls forebore to fly, Not a bat flapped to and fro Round their rest: Cheek to cheek and breast to breast Locked together in one nest. (192-7) All they need is around them; they have no need of outside interference and do not even use money of which they have very little; the only thing Laura has to trade for the fruit is herself, her hair. This is significant as it is firstly symbolic of women’s lack of economic power and also important if we look at the biblical imagery of the poem: Laura loses her strength after cutting

her hair like Samson but unlike him she has betrayed herself. In trading part of herself she loses all her power and independence: ” I have no copper in my purse, I have no silver either, And all my gold is on the furze That shakes in windy weather Above the rusty heather.” “You have much gold upon your head,” They answered all together: “Buy from us with a golden curl.” (118-25) They have no need of money until the goblin men come along and only then need it to protect themselves and obtain what~ Laura now must have. Food and accommodation are certainly not the only things that the sisters are self-sufficient in, however. They seem to be emotionally and spiritually replete and only the interference of the male goblins serves to disrupt this. The sisters plunge from

an idyllic state to misery and danger once Laura has tasted the forbidden fruit, dr ~ing clear parallells with the biblical story of the Fall. Lizzie, however, does not have to join Laura like Adam must join Eve in the BibleV Through her strength she is able to save Laura and bring her back into the metaphorical Garden of Eden. Her willingness to sacrifice herself and go through danger and physical abuse to save her sister shows an immense degree of female solidarity which the author clearly believes to be essential if women are to gain power and strength in society and to live fulfilling lives. The rich sensual language and images used have led to suggestions that the sisters can also exist sexually without men. Some critics have seen Goblin Market as a lesbian text and it is

not difficult to see why. Throughout the poem, there are descriptions of the sisters in terms of physical beauty: Laura reared her glossy head, (52) and Laura stretched her gleaming neck (81) and both sisters are physically very close: Golden head by golden head, Like two pigeons in one nest Folded in each other’s wings, They lay down in their curtained nest: (184-7) They are protecting each other from the evils of the world outside and can save each other from the soulless life the outside world has designated for them. Perhaps the most erotic moments in the text are after Lizzie has had her encounter with the goblins and she comes home covered in the juice of the forbidden fruit. Her invitations and Laura’s responses could easily be construed as very sexual in nature: Hug