Summary and main points
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers is written by Adrienne Cecile Rich, an American feminist, essayist, and poet who was 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 the woman of the modern age in her poetry.
Here in this poem, Rich tells us about the experiences of a woman in her married life. Therefore, one could say a woman lives two lives even here in this world. One is the life she lives in the house of her parents and the other is the life she lives in 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,
They pace in sleek chivalric
certainty.
Explanation
- The poet Rich is telling about a woman whom she calls an 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 who are moving and jumping around all over the fabric.
- They are bright yellow in color like the color of the topaz stone.
- The Tigers are in the blooming green forest situated in the background of their home.
- The tigers are proud, gallant, fearless, and courageous citizens of the forest.
- Rich has mentioned here 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. She is depressed.
- The Tigers are looking shining, elegant, and full of grace which shows their confidence in enjoying independence.
Second Stanza
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers
fluttering through her wool,
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 is pursuing her hobby in her free time but probably, but she is probably still afraid of her husband who scolds her.
- Her fingers are so tired of working endlessly all her life.
- The needle also becomes heavy for her to pull out of her 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 is his still 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 because of which she has worn out in her old age and the symptoms of the 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's long to live a free and fearless life is shown by the choice her of design – the tiger. Because the tigers are the free, happy, proud, 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 torments.
- 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 despite the fact that 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.
- Denizens – 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 – to move around proudly.
- Fluttering – to move in quick, irregular motion as if being agitated.