Summary and main points
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers was written by Andrienne Cecile Rich, an American feminist, essayist, and poet born in 1929 and died in 2012. She is one of the most widely read and influenced poets of the second half of the 20th century. Adrienne Cecile Rich is a poetess who can understand the feelings and emotions of women. Therefore, she is considered the voice of the most depressed and deprived section of society. Here in this poem, the great writer Rich has drawn one of the most amazing pictures of a woman who is under the male-dominated society. She has given a great deal of individualism to women of the modern age in her poetry.
In this poem, Rich tells us about the experiences of a woman in her married life. Therefore, a woman lives two lives even in this world. One is the life she lives at the house of her parents, and the other is the life she lives at the house of her husband. Rich has tried to explore the inner feelings of women who are living under the dominance of men.
First Stanza
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green,
They do not fear the men beneath the tree,
The pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Explanation:
* The poet Rich tells a story about a woman she calls Aunt Jennifer.
* She is embroidering a piece of cloth. This piece of cloth may be a tablecloth or a wall hanging.
* The pattern shows tigers moving and jumping around all over the fabric.
* Their yellow color is as bright as the color of the topaz stone.
* The tigers are in the blooming green forest in the background of their house.
* The tigers are proud, gallant, fearless, and courageous citizens of the forest.
* Rich mentions the amazing contrast between Aunt Jennifer and her tigers. The tigers are fearless, but this woman who is embroidering these tigers is not so. She is not fearless, depressed.
* The tigers look shining, elegant, and full of grace, showing their confidence in enjoying independence.
Second Stanza
Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wood,
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull,
The massive weight of the uncle's wedding band,
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
Explanation:
* The lady's fingers are shivering with the fear of her husband. It means the lady is under her husband's oppression.
* She pursues her hobby in her free time, but probably still afraid of her husband, who scolds her.
* Her fingers are tired of working endlessly all her life.
* The needle also becomes heavy for her to pull it out of the clothes as her poor, tired fingers have become too weak to handle the needle
* The words "uncle's wedding band" as the band was bought by her husband and it still belongs to him today.
* The lady is dependent on her husband.
* She is still weighed down by the weight of the ring.
* She has been living a very tiring and demanding life. She is worn out in her old age, and the symptoms of an exhausting life are crystal clear.
Third Stanza
When Aunt Jennifer is dead, her terrified hands will lie,
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by,
The tigers in the panel that she made,
Will go on prancing proud and unafraid.
Explanation:
* The lady longs to live a free and fearless life, is shown by her choice of design - the tiger, because tigers are the free, happy, round and independent dwellers of the forest.
* Tiger indicates her innermost desire to be strong and fearless, which has been overpowered by her husband.
* Probably, her suffering will end upon her death. It means her ordeal is endless in this world, and death is the only end of her suffering and torment.
* And death will put her frightened, shaking fingers to rest, and her soul will be free and fearless.
* But still, the ring shall remain on her hand even after death, i.e., her husband's rule over her is not yet over even though the weight of the ring was unbearable for her in life.
* After her death, her desire for freedom and fearlessness shall remain alive in these tigers that she has embroidered.
New Words:
- Prance – walk or move around with high springy steps.
- Topaz – a bright yellow color stone.
- Denizen – here, an animal that lives or is found in a particular place.
- Sleek – elegant.
- Chivalric – being courteous, especially to women, an act of a gentleman.
- Ordeal – extremely severe tests or experiences.
- Prancing – moving around proudly.
- Fluttering – to move in quick, irregular motion as if agitated.