The Erotic and Biblical Warnings of a Children’s Poem

David Hunter Franklin Jeffrey

For generations, storytelling has been used to indirectly give warnings about explicit topics to children. Christina Rossetti’s "Goblin Market" conceals a warning about sexual immortality within a children’s poem. The story follows two sisters, Lizzy and Laura, and their interaction with fruit selling merchants, known as the goblin men. Despite the warnings from her sister, Laura eats the goblin’s fruit, and she becomes mortally ill. To save her sister, Lizzy must brave and defeat the temptation of the goblin men. Due to the poem’s childlike simplicity and fantastical elements, the poem appears to be a children's narrative. A more carful analyzation of Rossetti’s work reveals that the poem can also be read as a fallen woman narrative that warns against sexual temptation, as well as a Christian allegory of forgiveness. These different interpretations, with consideration of Rossetti's charity work, illuminate a stronger interpretation of the poem’s significance. In her narrative, Rossetti makes a case for the redemption of a fallen woman via the power of a strong Christian mentor; by doing so, she argues that fallen women are not lost, but instead have the potential to be saved.

• David is a current undergraduate student studying biology at Lander University. He will graduate in May 2022 with a BS in Biology, and with minors in chemistry and environmental science. He plans on continuing his studies in a biology PhD program.