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Abstract

“The woman question” refers to a centuries-long debate over what role women play—or ought to play—in society. In the Victorian age, halting strides toward gender equality narrowed the question to such subjects as what skills women and men had in common, what level of education was appropriate for a woman, and how women should or should not compliment their male counterparts. Responses were wide-ranging; most Victorians favored some form of gender roles, some sought their absolute destruction, and many fell between the two camps. Among these voices, Christina Rossetti’s stood out for the strength and acumen with which she sought to right societal wrongs. Her poem “Goblin Market,” for instance, features a pair of sisters who possess agency in their own story, undercut prevailing stereotypes regarding women, and end the story with a redemptive picture of feminine solidarity.

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