Q2: Comparison of Jane Eyre and “Goblin Market”

Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” are both texts written in the Victorian period. They both carry similar themes of the evils of patriarchy and the importance of empowering women to assert their identity in this time period. Both Jane Eyre and Laura are characters that are affected by the issues that mainly affected women in the male-dominated Victorian society. This is clearly portrayed when the men in both texts try to confine women physically and emotionally through deception and force. The different portrayal of both male and female characters also plays a very important role in communicating these issues.
Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” can be read as a criticism of Victorian arrangement of marriage. She stresses the importance of women’s friendship as the main agent that can help in fighting against or changing society’s exploitation of women. The two sisters represent two different kinds of women; Lizzie, the submissive ones and Laura, those that fought against patriarchy, and the goblins represent the patriarchal system. It shows that women can control their destinies, gain some level of independence, and avoid society’s oppressive rules and work towards their liberation and happiness.
In the Victorians society men where more educated, powerful and rich hence they dominated women. Women were subjugated to the home as housewives whilst their husbands earned money for the family. This gave the men even more power over women, both before and after marriage. Therefore, this led to the society ignoring and exploiting of women's rights and abilities, and social status.
The goblin men, full of promises not kept, dominate goblin Market, which symbolizes marriage. This clearly shows how men controlled the marriage arrangement. Women had no or little power in society to get what they want hence would resort to selling themselves in marriage. Beauty and look was their only power and so they traded this and offered themselves for the security of a husband. The goblin men are described as animal-like but they still have power and influence over the women.
Patriarchy is portrayed as being corrupt and deceptive. Rossetti shows that women were usually coaxed into marriage with lavish promises of love, wealth, status and security. This is seen when the goblin men persistently and persuasively cry out to the girls to “come buy our….plump…sweet…rare” (lines 2-15) fruits. Lizzie, the docile sister succumbs to the Goblin's seduction but her sister Laura realizes the danger and firmly resists the lure of the Goblin men. Laura’s character represents a generation of women brave enough to rebel against stereotypes created by women as loose and passionate as well as fight women subjugation. Men’s deceit is evident in women’s disappointments in marriage. Despite the strict marital laws, men could make a commitment to woman but later leave and go to another woman. This can be seen when Laura returns to the market in need of more fruits but she finds no goblins, they have disappeared with all their succulent fruits. This breaks Laura’s heart and she becomes depressed when she realizes that she may never get to eat the fruits again. This is equivalent to the disappointment most women faced after marriage, in that they were not completely satisfied and happy because they were repressed, oppressed and not loved as much as they expected.
Surprisingly though, Lizzie who hasn’t yet tasted the fruits, can still hear the cries of the goblins. She however, manages to resist their incessant cries and calling but focuses on caring for her sister and looking ways of brining her back to life. Lizzie here could represent unmarried women desired by men and being coaxed into marriage. Observing her sister’s pitiful state teaches and empowers Lizzie, and it enables her to avoid falling for the goblin’s temptations. The struggle that could results from a woman’s attempt to fight patriarchy is represented when goblins use violence to taunt and torment her, but Lizzie does not falter or give in to their demands,
“Though the goblins cuffed and caught her, Coaxed and fought her, Bullied and besought her, Scratched her, pinched her black as ink, Kicked and knocked her, Mauled and mocked her, Lizzie uttered not a word; Would not open lip from lip Lest they should cram a mouthful in”(lines 424-432).
She represents strong women who were brave enough to stand up fight against society’s oppressive norms towards women. Her role as her sister’s savior shows the need for women’s collective action, how powerful they can be in fighting for their rights. Her persistence and effort could empower other women to stand up for their rights and continue fighting this kind of oppression and subjugation of women.
Lizzie is able to resist the rape and humiliation that the goblins attempt on her because she has leverage. She comes with a coin in her purse, which gives her bargaining power even though it is little, she can trade with goblins on equal terms without following their terms. The violent and persistent behavior of the goblins in trying to force Lizzie to eat the fruit represents the forceful nature of men when it came to forcing women to submit to them in marriage. However, Lizzie is strong and persistent in resisting eating the fruit, but she lets the fruit juices stick to her body so that she can bring it home to her sister. When she arrives home she tells Laura to "hug me, kiss me, suck my juices" (line 468) and Laura does exactly that. The effect of the juices seems to work as they wake her from her trance and make her look more alive.
The ending of the poem which hints at a possible erotic relationship between Laura and Lizzie could be a further commentary on how this newly found sense of identity also leads to a newly discovery of women’s sexuality instead of the old tradition of being restricted to only having romantic relations with men. However, the most important thing it that there is no presence of the domineering influence of goblin men in the lives of the two women.
Similarly, Bronte’s Jane Eyre discreetly rebels against her society’s patriarchal system where “Women, in their inferior treatment in Victorian society, are treated by society like they were no more responsible or worthy of respect than children”(Lewis). She develops into a strong, independent, self-assured and empowered young woman. Her character stands out from the many conforming women characters in the novel especially Bertha, Rochester's lunatic wife who is locked in the attic of his house, confined and being controlled by her husband like many married women. “Females were supposed to be quiet, submissive, passive, and loyal to their husbands”(Lewis). Jane Eyre on the other hand has her own ideas of how women should behave and what their role in society should be, contrary to what society dictates. We can see her rebellion against these oppressive societal norms when she says that;

"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrowed-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making pudding and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex." (Brontë 112-13)
She freely expresses her thoughts and her unfeminine ways puzzle most male and female characters in the novel. Also, she refuses to be charmed by Rochester who calls her angel and plans on transforming her through her dress style by she blatantly refuses this. Although he tries to convince her she does not believe him, she still remains skeptical and cautious. This clearly shows her refusal to be the woman that society expects her to be, gullible and naïve, just like Lizzie who is not fooled by the goblins.
Most male characters in this novel are also portrayed negatively because here too, they represent the evil patriarchal system. Rochester, one of the male characters in Jane Eyre is described as "masculine; and… dark, strong, and stern,"(115) a better description as compared to the animal-like goblins but still bad. Bronte mainly highlights his masculine features, his dominance, energy, and authoritative and forceful nature. Jane says that;
“I knew my traveler with his broad and jetty eyebrows; his square forehead, made squarer by the horizontal sweep of his black hair..…yes, all three were very grim and no mistake. His shape, now divested of cloak, I perceived harmonized in squareness with his physiognomy; I suppose it was a good figure in the athletic sense of the term…broad chested and thin flanked, though neither tall nor graceful (122).
This masculinity translates to the power that men possessed over women in the Victorian era, evident in Rochester’s deceptive scheming plot to charm and deceive Jane into marrying him as his second wife. The wedding would have continued if he hadn’t confessed the truth. Bertha’s situation reveals women’s vulnerability in marriage. Rochester lies that they are divorced because he knows that he has silenced her by hiding her away and she cannot speak against him. Rochester also thinks he understands women, especially Jane but Bronte make it is clear that he does not understand her at all. Just like in “Goblin Market” men and women are not equals. The relationship is like a slave and his master hence problems in seeing eye to eye.
Similar to “Goblin’s Market” Rochester's former mistresses are an example of victims of the unfair marriage system which does not live up to its promises. Jane refers to the mistresses as "these poor girls" (348) because she realizes that she could have easily been like them. Rochester also plays “games with her heart and soul in order to conduct a sort of experiment for his own benefit and amusement”(Lewis). Luckily for her, she avoids the trap by observing and learning from the other victims, just like Lizzie is able to learn from her sister’s mistake. Jane also struggles to overcome the danger of falling for Rochester's lavish promises of love and wealth. Rochester’s persistence threatens her beliefs; she admits, "I loved him very much…more than I could trust myself to say…more than words had power to express" (295). Even though she is strong willed, Rochester’s dominance and deception threaten to consume her, she says;
"My future husband was becoming to me my whole world...almost my hope of heaven. He stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun. I could not, in those days, see God for his creature: of whom I had made an idol" (307).
However, she gets a lucky escape when Rochester confesses. Jane lets “ her fate to be dictated by herself and her own actions instead of the wishes and direction of Mr. Rochester”(Lewis). She sticks to her principles and leaves him.
Jane also manages to assert her own identity in the male-dominated society even though both Mr. Rochester and St. John Rivers try to confine her to a subordinate position in order to control her. She achieves this by rejecting both Rochester and St. John. She only agrees to get married to Mr. Rochester after ensuring that their marriage is truly based on equality. She now has wealth and almost the same social class with him. Just like Lizzie was able to trade with the goblins because she had money. Brontë uses Jane’s rebellious character to communicate her thoughts, as well as oppose Victorian subjugation and stereotypes about women in the Victorian society.
Bronte and Rossetti can be seen as two of the few brave female writers who used their writing to denounce the oppressive norms of the Victorian society for women. The fight against patriarchy in both texts lead to empowerment of women and the discovery of their sense of identity, this attributes to the content and positive ending of both texts. Jane Eyre, Laura and Lizzie seem to have achieved a sense of security, happiness, and pride. Both texts end on a positive note, promising better relationships/understanding between men and women as well as better if not equal treatment.

Works Cited:
Robert Lewis, Gender Roles in Charlote Brontes Jane Eyre.
The woman question: sexuality, sisterhood and subversion in chris ross” goblin market.