Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
	The above painting also contains connotations of the “fallen woman.”  It depicts Proserpine or Persephone, the daughter of the Greek fertility goddess and earth mother Demeter.  Persephone was kidnapped by the god of the underworld and forced to remain in Hades as his bride, although she was allowed to return to the earth annually for a short visit.  Her return heralded the coming of spring.
	She is depicted eating a pomegranate, the forbidden fruit of Hades.  Consuming the fruit condemned her to an eternity in the underworld.  Compare this depiction with Laura in “Goblin Market.”  Note that the painting (as well as the poem) uses sensual imagery—the loose-flowing gown and hair, the full red lips, and the ripe fruit from which the woman has just taken a bite.  Does the sensual, erotic imagery of Christina Rossetti’s poem conflict with the moral message of renunciation and self-sacrifice?