COVE

This image, entitled, "Golden head by golden head," is a title-page vignette by Dante Gabriel Rosetti for his sister's work, Goblin Market and Other Poems, published in March of 1862 by Macmillan and Co. Dante Gabriel Rosetti was one of the artists most central to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. As such, the conventions of this particular artistic style are made evident through D.G. Rosetti's usage of heavy shadow and tone, and an attempt to realistically capture the likenesses of the poem's two heroines, sisters Laura and Lizzie. The image is proleptic in nature, in that it anticipates lines 184-198 of Goblin Market, a scene describing the two sisters lying upon one another, embraced in sleep. Likewise, the image depicts this exactly; Lizzie and Laura hold each other close in the visual, and their likenesses are nearly similar to one another, in order to emphasize the lines that describe their twin-like appearances: "Like two blossoms on one stem/Like two flakes of new fall'n snow/Like two wands of ivory" (lines 188-190). This scene in the poem comes after Laura has partaken of the forbidden goblin fruit; this fact is arguably illustrated through D.G. Rosetti's inclusion of what looks to be the goblin men in a circle above the one sister. Such artistic liberty could be interpreted as Laura dreaming of the fruit that she has eaten; she longs for it even after she has already partaken of it, illustrating proleptically how this sin will lead to her eventual decline. What is of further note in this image is how the sisters are entwined with each another; the one who lies with her head atop the other's could be interpreted as Lizzie, whose protective embrace denotes her future role as a Messianic figure within the poem. Such is because it is she who ultimately saves Lizzie from an untimely death (brought about by sin). With these notions in mind, the religious subtext of Goblin Market is emphasized through this image, and is not just illustrative of Christina Rosetti's own religious convictions. Arguably, this image also speaks of her time spent working with the fallen women of the Highgate Penitentiary, in which care was given to help reform prostitutes. The fact that the saviour - Lizzie - is a woman, adds a layer of subversion and complexity to this religious narrative. While the poem describes the consequences of the sin Laura has committed, she does not die, or remain outcast due to her mistake. Rather, it is Lizzie's love and sacrifice—encompassed in this visual—that allows for Laura to achieve ultimate salvation and acceptance by the end of the poem. 

Principle Sources:

COVE Edition of Goblin Market

Dr. Lorraine Janzen Kooistra's Annotations for Goblin Market

Kooistra, Lorraine Janzen. Christina Rossetti and Illustration : A Publishing History, Ohio University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/lib/ryerson/det....

Pre-Raphaelites

Christina Rosetti: Additional Biographical Information