When reading Goblin Market, I felt as if the poem had overtones of female empowerment. The relationship of Lizzie and Laura could be interpreted as erotic due to word choices but the fundamental nature of their relationship is that of sisters who support each other. When the poem describes them sleeping next to one another, they are painted as innocent and at total peace with the world. While they are together, they are untouchable and all is good.
I found it interesting that men do not make an appearance in the poem except when the goblins are being described - Rossetti refers to them as "goblin men" who the girls should stay away from. The fruit that they sell Lizzie is possibly a metaphor for the dominant and often abusive nature of masculine love that was accepted at the time. Lizzie indulges on the fruits and becomes hooked on it even though it is clearly self-destructive. The goblins forcing Laura to consume their fruit against her will could very well be a metaphor for violence against women. By the end of the poem, both women have fallen victim to the evil of "goblin men" which causes them to once again find comfort in one another.
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