In Goblin Market Essay, Research Paper
Would you feel safe in a forest full of weird little men? The poem ?Goblin Market? by Christina G. Rossetti uses the awkward feeling of little goblin men seducing two young women in the forest with luscious fruit. This creepy story raises a question of what changes does the character Laura go through and how do these changes effect the mood of the story? The four changes in the character act as four turning points in the story.
To begin one must look at what kind of person Laura is portrayed as before the goblin men persuade her into their clutches. A section out of the poem Laura said ?We must not look at goblin men, we must not buy their fruits who knows upon what soil they fed their hungry thirsty roots.? This shows how protective and worried Laura is about her sister Lizzie. The line ?hungry and thirsty roots? is giving an image that these fruits are out to get you with their hungry, thirsty, and maybe even evil roots, if looked at figuratively.
The first change in Laura happens not long after she tells Lizzie to be careful of the goblin men. She say?s one thing but does another, and the roles of the sisters are reversed. In the same stanza as the last excerpt it is stated ?Curious Laura chose to linger Wondering at each merchant man.? Along with this change the mood is also angled in a different direction. The mood was set up by telling the reader all these bad things about the goblin men and by describing their ugly looks, and then some how Laura is attracted to such hideous creatures. This gives a sense of uneasiness because there is wonderment how could such a precious, innocent girl be tempted by evil goblin men.
The next turning point of the story is Laura?s yearning for the fruit, which creates a feeling of longing. Lizzie?s devotion to her sister, which also adds to the mood, is shown in lines 210 to 214, ?Lizzie with an open heart, Laura in an absent dream, One content, One sick in part; One warbling for the mere bright day?s delight, One longing for the night.?
That night the next mood change and turning point occurs when Laura and Lizzie go to the stream to fetch some water. Laura?s only reason for going was to purchase more fruit. She was devastated as depicted in these lines from the poem ?Laura turned cold as stone to find her sister heard that cry alone, That goblin cry,?. Laura is starting to dye and it seems the reader is suppose to feel sorry for her and the mood is changed into sorrow. This sorrow is shown by another excerpt that explains Laura?s feeling ?she said not one word in her hearts ache.? The reader also is given a vivid picture of her aging and depression.
The next change in Laura is when Lizzie comes back from her attempt to buy fruit from the goblin men. As soon as Lizzie enters the scene and acknowledges she has fruit juices the whole feeling of sorrow and pity goes away. There is a scene of love and rejoicing, it seems Laura becomes young again instantly. A good explanation of this feeling is said with these lines ?Borne by a racer at full speed, Or like the mane of horses in their flight, Or like an eagle when she stems the light Straight toward the sun, Or like a caged thing freed, or like a flying flag when armies run.
The changes in Laura not only change her but the mood of each scene. Each one of her actions brought different turning points of the story. The four points described were manipulated by the poet to bring several different feelings of the characters into the readers mind which a figurative meaning can be drawn from these to relate to their sentiments.