"Goblin Market" is a story that speaks to many people on many different levels. By using a fairy tale setting mixed with erotic lyricism, Christina Rossetti weaves a tale that, in ways, children and adults can both relate to. On its surface "Goblin Market" is a simple moral lesson for anyone who has ever been tempted. Yet, when explored in greater depth, "Goblin Market" is an allegory about sins, the duality of how we confront these sins, and the companionship gained from overcoming them.
             Rossetti's use of language plays a large part in interpreting the types of sin humans encounter. One sin that is explored quite graphically in the "Goblin Market" is that of our sexual desires. The author uses fruit as sexual lure. Fruit is already sexual in nature, as it's the by-product of reproduction. If Rossetti had used something else to be a sexual lure, it wouldn't have the same resonance. It's easy to see in the poem how the goblin men entice Lizzie with their "plump, juicy fruits." They call out, "Come buy, Come buy," like male sirens. The author also uses descriptive lyrics to show the sexual pleasure Lizzie receives by sucking and sucking the "fruit globes" until her lips are sore and until she loses all track of time. The use of fruit and Lizzie's temptation is also an allusion to the Biblical story of Original Sin. The fruit is almost a symbolic character itself, representing a desire to indulge in physical pleasure and to accept the myriad of material lures we are offered without thinking of the repercussions.
             Despite all Lizzie's efforts to warn her sister, Laura learns the hard way, developing a sickness after her meeting with the goblin men. In this way, Laura and Lizzie represent the duality of human choice and the internal struggle people face in making decisions. The two sisters can arguably be seen not as separate ent...