Everyday I get agitated. I read Harian Metro (I must confess this is one of my reading diet for the day) and I read about young, sweet and innocent Laura and Jeanie get conned by sweet talking Goblin Man over and over again. I read about young girls leaving the comfort of their parents' wings to soar high above with the men they barely know and have just met virtually via Facebook. Do not they learn how
"The wicked quaint fruit- merchant men,
Their fruits like honey to the throat.
But poison in the blood;
The conniving Goblin Man stood out in this poem for me. There are many other issues we can emphasize in Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti. Which of the issues found in the poem stood out for you?
Ladies, please remember:
"For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands."
the issue of temptation in this poem stood out for me. i think sometimes it is so hard to be firm and not follow what you really want to do or whatever your desires are cause they are not acceptable and they are wrong. well, in this poem, there are 2 sisters from the same family but one is so firm and the other one is not enough strong to control her temptations.
ReplyDeleteTemptation. Temptation is the desire to perform an action that one may enjoy immediately or in the short term but will probably later regret for various reasons. In advertising, "temptation" is a theme common to many of the marketing and advertising techniques used to make products more attractive.
DeleteWhat causes it? Weak Human Hearts? Unsatisfied desires... When one is not tankful for all the graces received, he/she tend to yearn for more and more and that leads to temptations.
Now, why one of the sister in Goblin Market was unable to control her temptation? Was it temptation or longing?
I think it was about temptation. However, we can come up with various interpretations.
DeleteThe first issue that stood out to me in this poem is the incapability of women to deal with temptation. If you are firm enough then you will be able to get rid of the sweet talks and “commitments” by men. If you fail to resist the temptation, you will be manipulated and you will get hurt someday. This is why there are still a lot of women get cheated by men that they barely know because every woman wants to feel unique and this causes them to believe with the sweet talks by men blindly even they are all lies. This is portrayed through Laura and Lizzie with their contrast personality where Lizzie is firm towards the temptation of Goblin men and the temptation takes hold of Laura. I would compare this temptation to taking drugs. We all know drug harms our health but we could still be driven by our curiosity to try it and once we try it, we will addict to it. If we are as firm as Lizzie, we will not be manipulated by the temptation!
ReplyDeletei do agree with you. at the moment, in our society we can see how easily women be cheated by men particularly those who are so good to convince you by sweet talks and commitments. we can not judge those women as they might have received no attention or love from their fathers or brothers. besides, people are different some can control themselves while the rest cannot. i think life is so challenging with a lot of ups and downs but depends on how firm you are to not get tempted as a woman you can pass the challenges easily.
DeleteYou are right, we all knew that drugs have side effect or sometimes even harmful but we eat it, because still not 100% sure if it cures or damages us.
DeleteI also think that the temptation in this poem is very much similar to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. It is portrayed through Laura. Lizzie and Laura are both living in their own world and other characters are not mentioned. It is just like Adam and Eve. They know that they should not consume the fruit. Eve ate the fruit because she was seduced by serpent. So, it is quite similar to Laura as she is seduced by Goblin men to taste the fruit.
DeleteBoth narratives show that they need to endure for the consequence of their temptation. It highlights how curiosity could tempt people to do something although they are aware of the consequences for doing so.
DeleteThe problem I see here is that a number of us are afraid of being alone. To be alone and to be without a man are equated to being a failure. Success for a woman is always defined by her success in capturing a man.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are afraid of being alone. We need someone to lean on whenever we have problems and no matter how successful we are because we are afraid to feel the emptiness deep inside our heart.So, it is actually ambivalent.
ReplyDeleteI think in this poem the most remarkable issue is the issue of temptation or attractiveness.Nowadays people treat a single woman with the age range of 25-30 or above differently. they ask why do not you get married?are u still alone?this cause us we feel afraid of being alone, so the result will be getting married or even cheated by the man whom you do not have good feeling. In this poem, laura plays the role of such a woman that feel afraid of being alone, so the Goblin man were successful to cheat her.
ReplyDeleteActually, it sounds nobody likes to live alone and it makes no difference if you are a man or woman. We need somebody in our life to make sure he is there for us to fulfilling our deep emotions inside.
ReplyDeleteNot getting married doesn't mean you are alone. I think its okay to be alone. Being alone doesn't mean lonely. But how sad for someone who is surrounded by many "friend" yet lonely rather than someone who is alone but not lonely!!! Get what I mean?
DeleteLoneliness is a state of mind. To define your contentment in life through others will forever create an opportunity for someone to take control of your life. Happiness and contentment in life can ultimately be achieved if you are the one who is in control of the direction of your life. If you are the captain of your ship, thousands goblin men will float lifeless in their attempts to wrest away the navigation from you.
DeleteAnother issue which comes to my mind by reading this poem was the society’s moral values for women. From old days, the society makes woman to think that they need a man and sometimes when a woman like Laura feel pressure or lonely have tendency to lean on a man. On the other hand, there were and still there are women who resist against the feelings like this like Lizzy. It can be something natural that men and women need each other, because of their differences to complete each others’ lives, but the point is that the society insisted it is a woman who needs a man. As a result of this way of thinking, some women thinks that these are the man who can help them and when they feel alone or disappointed by pressure they get enchanted by some men’ words easily and cheated by them. If the society tries to remove this point of view against men and women relationship, then the women learn more about men. The relationship between them will get change and women learn how they should have control their temptation when they are under the pressure.
ReplyDeleteI am agree with you, It is also related to the way that society treated women and I think culture plays an important role in society that women live in. but generally speaking, even in a developed countries like U,S or Europe, this is the same story.
DeleteAs may not necessarily a man who can help them, and even a sister can make them to feel happy.and they should learn how and when their temptation showing the wrong way to them.
ReplyDeleteI think even men are afraid to be alone. I suppose that is how human nature works. Both men and women need each other in order to fulfill each other’s desires. The problem occurs when women becomes too dependent on the man where they practically “live” on their man for every little thing. This is when men start to take women for granted because they know they can control everything.
ReplyDeleteTo be alone and without a man can also be portrayed as an independent woman. If the woman is working, earning a well-paid job that she can afford her own lifestyle, there isn’t anything wrong being without a man because she is able to provide the necessity for herself and not depending on a man to do it for her.
I am not totally agree with you. I am agree that men and women complete each other and both need each other to satisfy their passion but you know, this kind of thinking that a women are such a dependent creature from the beginning of creation make it a bit difficult to recognize women as a totally independent creature.
DeleteCULTURE.. the BIG word here. Yes, i suppose culture plays a role as well, but I think its to certain extend. Women these days are starting to be independent and think for themselves. They are starting to get out of the old age mentality which says that a woman has to just sit at home, cook and be a housewife. We see these days that women are beginning to take over higher positions in corporate world (of course the issue of being a lady boss sometimes appear and also the issue of male ego of having a female superior). But the point is that women are starting to step out of their comfort zone and being independent. Even in universities, there are much more females than males!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe same as Nazi, I think both men and women need each other and they should need each other. it's not just about being a man or woman, it's about attracting the differences. as a human being they are only 2 kinds on earth which can attract each other by their differences. However, it may happens for every other creatures to be together to give a complete view. as an example,i can tell a flower can be beautiful, but putting many kinds of flowers beside each others and making a bunch of them by putting leaves inside them give you a complete and more beautiful pictures. so even a flower needs other kinds of its own to complete itself
DeleteNow Ii know Pn Ju that Harian Metro is your reading diet for the day! Hahahaha!!!
ReplyDeleteYes many young, sweet and innocent Laura and Jeanie get conned by sweet talking Goblin Man over and over again. But is that due to temptation? I think it's curiosity. Young people are always curious to experience many new things. That is why they are easily conned by adults. parents should play an important role to discuss issues openly and create awareness in the minds of young adults. A burnt child dreads the fire! Once he/she has burnt himself/herself he/she is very careful to see that it doesn’t happen again. Any such painful experience is not soon forgotten. People always learn best from experience... Why when advised they don't listen when it happen then they cry... cry over the spilled milk!!! TOO LATE!!!
Other than curiosity, i think its the lack of confidence as well. It's when you are told not to believe some things but because you yourself are not at a strong grip for certain things, you tend to let lose and indulge in it. Not believing yourself that you actually deserve someone / something better can also be the cause. being confident and being sure of yourself helps a great deal to determine if you would fall into any entrapment.
DeleteThis is why many girls get conned easily over virtual friends. Believing easily whatever the virtual "friends" say makes it easier for them to get these girls as victims. Despite hearing all these news everyday, over the telly, radio, newspaper, internet.. yet it is happening. WHY?
DeleteOne of the reason may be that they sound so convincing over the virtual world that girls start believing that this may be different than the rest. After all, we have also hear of happy ending stories that started through virtual friends. And maybe, just maybe these victims think that theirs would also end up a happy ending.. somehow..
The issue that I find most prevalent in this poem is sisterly bonding. It’s obvious that through this poem, we know that one should be careful towards temptation and how to handle it, but when I read the poem over and over again, it reveals something much deeper than just resisting temptation. The poet is addressing an issue which goes beyond of oneself. In fact, in the early years, this poem was a good example that portrays sisterhood and the heroism in a female.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, the issue of being a female hero is seen as very subtle, but the love that one sister has for another is obvious. We see how Lizzie goes out of the way to save her sister, Laura and bring her back to the right path. Even though Lizzie’s heroic act is constrained in the male dominated society, she somehow managed to save Laura. But this is where confusion comes in. We are not sure if sisterhood helped save Laura or was it because of the juices.
But beneath it all, lies the tale of sisterly love. Where one sister sacrificed (almost) herself in order to save the other. The sisters close relationship to one another help them to conquest against the lures the Goblins offer them.
The essence of this poem can be related to current time, where family ties are important, sisterly love and bonding will take you to great length. In which now, thinking about it – I wouldn’t have been where I am today if it wasn’t because of the guidance my elder sister gave me. Being the eldest in the family, she held the responsibility well and she was there in every step of my life. From being a teenager to an adult, she was there to guide me, although at times I would despise her of doing so because I thought my ways would be better and more “in trend”.
When they say friends come and goes but family stays, they said it right.
When Laura’s pureness was stained, Lizzie came as a savior to save her sister. It wasn’t the help from a father, brother or husband that helped save Laura’s life, it was the sister’s.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe just another issue that would be interesting to talk about is the sexual taboo. The Goblin men symbolize things which are considered taboo for young women (at that time, the Victorian period).