The Goblin Market

I fell in love with the Pre-Raphaelites in college. Christina Rossetti was an enigma. Praised for her Christian virtue and religious writings, Goblin Market broke from her tradition. Seen as vaguely pornographic and shockingly aberrant from the "women always suffer" stories of Adam and Eve, Pandora and other curious women, Lizzie and Laura survive to achieve the Victorian ideal of children of their own. It shocked the time that Lizzie stood her ground against men and won, she saved her sister by laying with her and sharing the fruits reserved to the Goblin men. Yet Rossetti's previous standards kept her work from the reputation shared by her brother's wanton crowd. But, could this have been a sister showing her brother, I can do what you do but better? After all, Oscar Wilde taught us that anything went in the Victorian age as long as no one knew about it. The only true sin was publicity. Did Christina use her reputation for being upright and pious to announce that her sexuality remained among the precious sisterhood and a society determined to avoid the public sins pretended not to see what was there? Again, not too far a removal from the paranormal fiction I seem to be wallowing in right now.