Goblin Market..Role of Lizzie Essay Example

to her by the Goblin men, Eve craved the fruit from the one tree she was forbidden to eat from.

Laura was warned by Lizzie not to eat the fruit just like Eve was warned by God not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Hill 2 the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And just like Eve, Laura wanted what she was told she could not have. Perhaps it was the excitement of knowing it was wrong and doing it anyway that caused both Eve and Laura to finally succumb. And for a short spanse of time both enjoyed the taste of the fruit.

In lines 129-131 the fruit is described as “sweeter than honey from the rock. / Stronger than man-rejoicing wine, / clearer than water flowed that juice. The “honey from the rock,” “man-rejoicing wine,” and “water” could be references to Christ himself. Laura thought the fruit was the most wonderful thing she had ever tasted and all sense of reason abandoned her as she basked in her corruption.

Her moment of moral abandonment at the loss of her virginity lasts only briefly as she begins to crave more and more but can no longer hear their voices calling her to “come buy. ” Only Lizzie, who is still virginal, can hear their voices as they try desperately to seduce her as well.It breaks the older sister’s heart as she watches her sister pine away, yearning for the fruit. It is here the reader sees the true depth of Lizzie’s love for her sister as she is willing to sacrifice what she holds most dear to save her sister.

She goes and willingly sacrifices herself to

gain the fruit that will save her sister’s life. In her sacrifice Lizzie can be compared to Christ in His sacrifice for humankind. As Lizzie took the fruit to save her sister’s life, so did Christ offer himself to take our place. He faced what He despised most, sin, as Lizzie faced what she had avoided all her life, the goblin-men.And like Christ, Lizzie saves her sister and is not destroyed by eating the fruit, but instead conquers evil with her virtue and purity.

After Laura kisses her sister, the taste of fruit “was wormwood to her tongue. ” She realizes the wrong she has done, and despises the fruit. Much like a Christian repenting of their sin, so does Laura “rent all her robe / and wrung her hands in lamentable haste. ” And like a Christian relieved of their guilt, so is Laura relieved of her shame as she is redeemed by her sister’s love. Lizzie’s love for her sister is admirable and rare.If it were not for her agape love for Laura, then Laura would be completely lost to the world.

Goblin Market is a poignant reminder of humanity’s frail condition and the need to be accepted without perquisite. Whether it be by a spouse or a sister, every human individual needs to know they are loved. Perhaps in Rossetti’s opinion though, a sister’s love is something slightly more rare and more precious. As the closing lines of the poem say, “For there is no friend like a sister In calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch on if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters

down, To strengthen whilst one stands. ”