Author: redrum

The first read of ‘Goblin Market’ by Christina Rossetti brought up many themes of women’s sexuality and sexual pressures from men. Sex in this case is represented by the fruit being handed to two sisters by goblins. In the beginning of the poem these fruits are described as “full and fine” and “sweet to tongue and sound to eye” but even with very positive descriptions the sisters reject the fruit because “their evil gifts will harm [them]”. This forbiddingness’ of an object that is being described as such a luxury makes it of higher value and is more of a mystery. The tone also switches within the poem from these angelic words to more aggressive adjectives like “crowing” and “snarling”. This switch in language is indicative of the change in mood of the goblins as well. In the beginning they were asking the girls if they wanted fruit but as the poem progressed the choice of taking the fruit was abandoned and the fruit was forced upon them. This can be seen as peer pressures and a rape if you view the poem with the point of view of fruit being sex.

A poem with themes of male manipulation and vulnerable women makes sense being published during the Victorian era because of the role of women during this period. Women have little rights and were often seen only to please men. Writing a poem from the side of the women without being direct could be seen as a sign of activism toward women’s rights at the time.

In a broader sense I believe this poem is a great description of power and addiction overall and doesn’t fall only under the category of being about sexual acts. The fruits can be viewed as anything society views as taboo. An example of this would be drugs. In this context it is something that with peer pressure people give into even if they know it is bad for them in the long run. Humans do things even though we shouldn’t and this will continue on forever.

The Lady of Shalott described a young woman who is locked away in a tower and must weave a blanket every day with the fear that if she doesn’t something horrible will happen. She may not know what will happen but the fear of the unknown keeps “her weaving, either night or day” (Tennyson). She also has no access to the outside world and only has “a mirror clear Reflecting tower’d Camelot” (Tennyson). This poem has very straight forward language which enables the reader an easy read, but the complex aspect of the theme is where readers are allowed to form their own line of thinking. The reason The Lady of Shalott is so popular is because everyone can find a way to relate to the young lady who has found herself trapped in the tower.

I believe this poem is the perfect read for college students who are trying to figure out what their path is going to be for their future. There is so much unknown about the future regarding career choice and finding a partner. The young woman in the poem looks out this mirror to the real world and sees “two young lovers lately wed” and “knights come riding two and two” (Tennyson). She is watching the lives of others go by while she sits and does the same task of weaving each day. Feeling like you are living the same day everyday while watching other people live their lives is a very common notion. Changing you pattern is a scary thing and in the case of the poem looking into the real world and experience it for herself not just through the mirror resulted in her death. This idea of taking a chance would result in the worst possible outcome reminds me of overthinking. The beauty and complexity of the human mind goes far beyond this poem but it brings up many challenges faced every day and giving it a fairytale twist.

In Dr. Steward’s diary entry in chapter 16, he discusses Lucy in her vampire form. This description conflicts with the view of women in the Victorian era. During this era, women were regarded as pure and angelic. When Lucy is a vampire, she is described as having “eyes unclean and full of hell fire, instead of the pure gentle orbs we knew” (Stoker, 302). In readings, eyes are often described as looking into one’s soul and by describing them as ‘unclean’ Dr. Stewards is taking femininity away from Lucy’s character. Within gothic fiction, readers enjoy the idea of the unusual. Stoker uses the stereotypes of women at the time to go beyond what people would normally expect from Lucy. Novels such as Dracula gain this level of popularity because they reach into the impulsivities and unnatural desires that society requires, we hide because judgment will follow. Watching Lucy devolve into ‘hell fire’ allows the reader’s urges of anger and impurity to be validated through reading opposed to acting out and getting judged by society.

While Lucy is primarily seen as a flawed woman during the Victorian Era, she also offers a sex appeal that women want. Within the same paragraph, Dr. Steward comments on her smile, describing it as “voluptuous” (Stoker, 302). In this sense, her evilness has made her more attractive. This comes from another common idea during the Victorian era that women only have power when they are evil or trying to gain something. It’s her power that makes her more sexualized even when she is committing ungodly acts against children. This comparison between purity and sex is a major theme within Dracula that Lucy encapsulates.

In the speckled band the Doctor came to talk to Holmes saying, “’I will go when I have had my say. Don’t you dare to meddle with my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here- I traced her! I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here.’ He stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.” (Doyle, 141). Within this quotation the Doctor uses very threatening adjectives such as ‘dare’, ‘meddle’, ‘dangerous’, and ‘foul’. He uses this vocabulary to exemplify his power to Holmes to scare him away from solving the mystery involving the death of the Doctor’s step-daughter. This fear of the law was common during the Victorian era because families wanted to maintain respect to their family name. In the Lady Audley’s secret, they keep Lady Audley from going to court for attempting to murder George for the same reason of maintaining respect. The use of power here is also consistent with gothic fiction. Here the power is used to compel Holmes into stopping his search for the truth. He proves this by showing his strength in bending the poker. The description of the Doctor also creates an image for the reader when getting to the end of the short story, which makes it make more sense that he would be playing with this dangerous snake from India. Without this quotation the reader wouldn’t have the characterization to make the ending believable.

Within chapter 13 Robert describes his first depressive episode regarding the disappearance of George when he says, “He sat for hours smoking and thinking – troubled and gloomy thoughts, leaving a dark shadow upon his moody face, which neither the brilliant light of the gas nor the red blaze of the fire could dispel” (Braddon, 99).  This quote first serves to intricately describe the grief Robert is feeling after George’s disappearance. The sentence begins with different sentiments which describe what Robert is feeling in a vague manner and evolves into a spiral of how his mind is devolving into chaos with the concerns of not having his closest companion. The binaries which compare light and dark, contrast the stark difference between hope and despair. Robert is perched with a “dark shadow upon his moody face” which reveals the anguish and depth of the emotions he is feeling (Braddon, 99). The same can be said for the binary between troubled and brilliant. This passage holds a melancholy tone based off the related words like; ‘troubled’, ‘gloomy’, and ‘moody’. It also the reader to gain empathy for Robert earlier and as the novel moves through Robert’s character becomes more disliked. It is possible the reader is meant to feel bad for hating Robert at the end of the novel and the author wants the reader to think back to moments like this where Robert is just a person who is grieving a loss of a friend. The close reading passage chosen exemplifies the madness that is in the novel, specifically Roberts.