Christina Rosetti’s poem “Goblin Market” can be linked to the opium and laudanum addictions of the Victorian era. Laudanum, an opium derivative, was sold in common markets to all members of the public, often alongside products such as fruits and vegetables. Laudanum was endorsed by doctors as a miracle cure for nearly all ills. However, there was a growing awareness also in the medical profession of the addictive nature of the drug.

The fruits of the Goblins are like opium, with addictive qualities. The description of Laura by Rossetti is nearly identical to that of laudanum addicts. Laura, without the fruit, “grew thin and grey” and “dwindled” and “decay[ed].” In the British Medical Journal, a doctor describes his real-life young female addict as “cold and pallid [skin], [and] the pale and ghastly expression” (Russell 335). Interestingly, Rossetti’s sister-in-law, the wife of her brother Dante Rossetti, died of a laudanum overdose in 1862, the same year the poem was published. The 1868 Pharmacy Act created rules for examining and registering pharmacists, which until this time, had been able to practice without any type of regulation. It also created a list of 15 “poisons” and a “Poison Registry” for each pharmacy. In the poem, Lizzie’s cautionary speech to Laura can be seen as the movement of some doctors and other leaders who argued for greater regulation, citing situations in which up to a pint a day of laudanum were being purchased by men and women, without a prescription (Davis 586).

Davis, A. W. “Unrestricted Sale of Laudanum. Provincial Medical & Surgical Journal, vol. 15,
no. 21, 15, 1851, pp. 585-586. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25493141.

Johnson, Matthew. “Anniversary of the Pharmacy Act: 150 Years of Medicines Safety.” The
Pharmaceutical Journal, 20 Aug. 2018.

Russell, James. “Clinical Lecture on Opium: Its Use and Abuse.” The British Medical Journal,
vol. 1, no. 175, May 5, 1860, pp. 334-336. https://www-jstor-org.