For there is no friend like a sister In calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands

These lines come from Christina Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market” (1862), a narrative poem written in the Victorian period and first published in her volume Goblin Market and Other Poems. The poem centers on two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, whose bond is tested when Laura succumbs to the seductive “goblin” fruit and begins to waste away. The quoted passage occurs in the poem’s later movement, where Rossetti generalizes from the sisters’ ordeal into a broader affirmation of sisterly solidarity—emotional, moral, and practical—set against temptation, suffering, and recovery. Rossetti’s recurring interest in devotion, self-sacrifice, and familial love informs the poem’s closing emphasis on sisterhood as a sustaining force.

The speaker elevates sisterhood as a uniquely steadfast form of friendship—reliable in both “calm” and “stormy” times. The sequence of verbs (“cheer,” “fetch,” “lift,” “strengthen”) stresses active care rather than mere sentiment: a sister not only comforts but intervenes, corrects, and supports when one falters. In the context of Goblin Market, the lines crystallize the poem’s moral arc: rescue and restoration come through loyal, self-giving love. More broadly, Rossetti frames sisterly bonds as a model of mutual aid and moral resilience, suggesting that intimate kinship can provide guidance and stability when individual willpower fails.