Goblin market comparison

• 'Goblin Market' was written in 1859 and first published in 1862
• Christina Rossetti wrote 'Goblin Market' while volunteering with fallen women at the penitentiary
• Goblin Market


  • Has multiple interpretations
  • Is a long poem that counts as two poems in the exam
• The goblins in 'Goblin Market' speak in a different meter to show discordance, similar to how Nora's husband interrupts the wedding in 'A Doll's House'
• The long introduction in 'Goblin Market' describing the exotic fruits


  Suggests a Marxist anti-capitalist interpretation, which can be compared to the wealth and middle-class furnishings in 'A Doll's House'
• The female characters Laura and Lizzy in 'Goblin Market'


  Represent different thoughts, with Laura being tempted and Lizzy trying to warn her, similar to Nora and Christine in 'A Doll's House'
• The goblins in 'Goblin Market'


  Act as masculine antagonists, remaining negative throughout, unlike Krogstad in 'A Doll's House' who becomes more sympathetic
• Laura being persuaded to pay for the fruit with her hair in 'Goblin Market'


  Has a sexual undertone, similar to Nora referring to herself as having to 'live hand-to-mouth' and perform tricks for her husband in 'A Doll's House'
• Lizzy in 'Goblin Market'


  Is the wiser, more experienced sister trying to help the naive Laura, similar to Christine's role with Nora in 'A Doll's House'
• Laura's inability to climb the steep bank after transgressing in 'Goblin Market'


  Symbolises redemption and is similar to images of the stairs in 'A Doll's House'
• Laura's panic and primal behaviour when she can no longer hear the goblins in 'Goblin Market'


  Is similar to Nora's growing madness and hysteria as she waits for her secret to be revealed in 'A Doll's House'
• Lizzy interrupting the goblins and using her own money in 'Goblin Market'


  Symbolises her power and independence, contrasting with Nora's lack of self-sufficiency in 'A Doll's House'
• The goblins becoming more primal and aggressive in 'Goblin Market'


  Can be compared to Krogstad and Torvald becoming more antagonistic in 'A Doll's House'
• Lizzy being able to climb the bank that Laura couldn't in 'Goblin Market'


  Symbolises her redemption, unlike Krogstad and Christine in 'A Doll's House'
• Lizzy bringing the fruit back to Laura and the 'Eat me, drink me, love me' line in 'Goblin Market'


  Symbolises self-sacrifice, similar to themes in 'A Doll's House'
• Laura's 'allergic reaction' and transformation after eating the fruit in 'Goblin Market'


  Can be compared to Nora's transformation during the tarantella dance in 'A Doll's House'
• The themes of sisterhood in 'Goblin Market'


  Contrast with the themes of brotherhood in 'A Doll's House'