Goblin Market

In a letter to her publisher, Rossetti claimed that the poem, which is interpreted frequently as having features of remarkably sexual imagery, was not meant for children. However, in public Rossetti often stated that the poem was intended for children, and went on to write many children's poems. When the poem appeared in her first volume of poetry, Goblin Market and Other Poems, it was illustrated by her brother, the Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Composed: April 1859

Published: 1862

Narrative Poem

NARRATIVE POETRY

A form of poetry that tells a story, often making use of the voices of a narrator and characters as well; the entire story is usually written in metred verse. Narrative poems do not have to follow rhythmic patterns.

To be even considered as a potential wife, women had to be not only virgins, but were expected to remain innocent and “free from any thought of love or sexuality” until after they had received a proposal (Kane 97). This requirement of chastity and absolute purity was not expected of men, as the potential husband had the freedom to participate in premarital and extramarital sexual relationships. Such a biased idea was one of many double standards in Victorian society, which demanded unquestionable compliance from women and none from men, since the women were thought to be controlled by their sexuality and were thus in need of regulation

The period known as the Victorian era in England, defined as the period between 1837 and 1901 during the reign of Queen Victoria, witnessed such polarized gender roles that it can also be analyzed according to the different functions assigned to men and women, more commonly known as the ideology of separate spheres. The separate spheres framework holds that “men possessed the capacity for reason, action, aggression, independence, and self-interest [thus belonging to the public sphere]. Women inhabited a separate, private sphere, one suitable for the so called inherent qualities of femininity: emotion, passivity, submission, dependence, and selflessness, all derived, it was claimed insistently, form women’s sexual and reproductive organization” (Kent 30).

In this period, marriage was one of the most significant points in a woman’s life. The majority of women did not have the option not to marry because society prevented women from making their own living:

"Barred by law and custom from entering trades and professions by which they could support themselves, and restricted in the possession of property, woman had only one means of livelihood, that of marriage” (Kent 86).

Therefore, no matter what the women desired, most were predestined to become wives due to their economic reliance on men.

A writer The Magazine of Domestic Economy in 1843, writes: "...to sell one's independence for gold is repugnant to all correct feeling. It is too often done, notwithstanding that unhappiness is the secret or evident result. We are no advocates for improvident marriages. Love in a cottage is very delightful, but it must be a cottage ornee and if with a double coach house the love will be the more enduring."

Cottage ornéor decorated cottage, dates back to a movement of 'rustic' stylised cottages of the late 18th and early 19th century during the Romantic movement, when some sought to discover a more "natural" way of living as opposed to the formality of the preceding baroque and neo-classical architectural styles. English Heritage define the term as "A rustic building of picturesque design." They often feature well-shaped thatch roofs with ornate timberwork.

The Victorian era was also a time of great sexual awakening in women. During this period, women's roles changed drastically from censored and submissive to educated owners of their bodies. The changes to the Victorian female, beautiful, childbearing property that need remain sexually uneducated for the sake of fidelity and virginity, occurred over the century with several marriage acts and contraception. From these amendments, a sexual being was born, debunking the archetype of the Victorian lady that exists today.