Goblin Women

The roles of women in societies have transformed through time, often becoming more diverse and less restrictive as social change progresses. Even in recent spans of one to two hundred years, the roles of women in society have been challenged and changed dramatically, from women earning the rights to their own property to holding positions of power. One such society that experienced a notable shift in the social expectations of women was Victorian England, a time period when the roles of women were strictly determined and upheld. In traditional Victorian society, women were expected to act as the guiding moral compass of the family, remaining both ethically and physically pure for their husbands. Such expectations meant that women were forced
In the first stanza, the goblin men are heard advertising their plentiful bounty of perfect fruits. They sell a plethora of fruits, described as “unpecked” “ripe” “fresh” and “full” (7, 15, 20, 21). The goblins use these descriptors to entice a potential buyer, emphasizing qualities that deem fruits as valuable. However, the reader can see the juxtaposition of a goblin, often seen as a mischievous monster, selling a wide array of perfect fruits. While the goblins list off nearly thirty fruits, they state that they are, “All ripe together” which would be highly unlikely in any natural setting. The fruits are also advertised as “[s]weet to tongue and sound to eye” which calls to mind the biblical temptation of Eve to the apple. This is a clue to the reader that these questionably perfect fruits are an object of temptation, encouraging the goblin’s motive to be questioned. Throughout the stanza, the goblins repeat, “Come buy” to coerce a passer-by into taking their fruits (3, 4, 19, 31). This indicates that the goblin intend to persuade the maidens to give in to temptation, therefore committing a
While the sisters attempt to avoid the tempting calls of the goblin men, Laura is shown “[p]ricking up her golden head”(41). “Golden” does not simply describe her hair color, rather the value of Laura’s mind and morality. At this point in the poem, Laura and Lizzie are both the perfect target for the goblins, as they are both morally pure maidens. The desires of the goblins are reflected in their descriptions of the fruits, which note valuable traits such as “[p]lump unpecked cherries” (7). The descriptors both signify the value of the cherries, also indicating qualities of morality that are valuable. The use of “plump” is an attractive quality as the fruit has the most to give through juices, sweetness, and nutrients. More notably, “unpecked” conveys that if a fruit were pecked, it would be damaged and lose its value. If these qualities reflect on morality, the ideal woman would have plenty of moral support to give and her morals would be uncorrupt, deeming her a valuable woman. The sisters are aware of the dangers that the goblin men are to them, as Laura states, “We must not look at goblin men, / We must not buy their fruits” (42-43). Through Laura’s statement, the reader can see that the expectation is that women remain pure and resist temptation, as the sisters have been