AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGER

 BY‐ ADRIENNE RICH

Introduction

Adrienne Rich was brought up in a well-off family. Rich felt dominated by her father’s strong personality while growing up. It was he who most guided her as a young poet. This wasn’t always to her liking as he expected her to write her poems his way. When Rich was growing up men dominated and women were expected to become dutiful wives in their adult lives. All these elements may have influenced the picture of marriage Rich drew in this poem. At the heart of the poem is an image of a husband who controls and frightens his wife. Rich wrote a lot of poems based on everyday experience. One topic she often featured was the tension, women felt due to being dominated by their husbands. In ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ Rich is mocking the weakness of Aunt Jennifer and the clout and authority of Jennifer’s husband in their marriage.

Summary

In the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ a woman expresses her suppressed feelings through her art. Aunt Jennifer is the victim of the male-dominated society. She has no one to tell her mental and physical pain. She makes a picture to convey her deep feelings. The speaker describes the tigers that her aunt produced on the panel. They are set in motion. They are moving quickly by raising the front legs and jumping forwards on the back legs. In the green jungle, they look free, bright, brave, fearless and magnificent. There are men sitting under the tree, but the Tigers do not. They move on to their goal boldly and smoothly. Jennifer finds it difficult to make pictures by using the ivory needle. She is tired of doing the household work after she got married. She can’t get herself involved in her artistic work. She has to do it in her leisure time. Even then she has to be sure whether her husband is watching her or not. So her hands are terrified. She will not be free from fear until she dies. She will be dominated by her husband. She will die, but her art will express her desire to move proudly and fearlessly like the tigers she has made.

EXPLANATION OF THE POEM:

Stanza ‐1.    

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,  

Bright topaz denizens of world of green.

They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

IMPORTANT WORDS:

  1. Prancing- A human quality which means walking in a very energetic manner. Here it’s used for the tiger.
  2. Topaz- Means a shiny crystal, Yellow (colour of tigers)
  3. Denizen- The native or citizen of a place.
  4. World of green- Represents forests here.
  5. Certainty- Confidence. Here it shows the way the tiger is confident while he walks.
  6. Chivalry- A social code of humans that has boldness, heroism, and courage.

Explanation:   Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance and move across a screen or wall. They are bright coloured like the golden yellow jewel (topaz). They are the denizens (dwellers) of green forests. They are not afraid of the men standing under the tree. They are well-groomed (shining) and running fast on the panel with confidence. 

  (Here Aunt Jennifer has knitted images of tigers on the panel. They are not real or living tigers. The images of tigers are created by aunt on the panel with her own hands. The tigers represent her dreams. Her desire is to be free from fear and oppression that control her life and wants to become brave like tigers.)

Stanza‐ 2. 

Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard pull.

The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band; 

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand

IMPORTANT WORDS:

  1. Fluttering:  means doing something in a hurry. (Here it is used by the poet to describe Aunt Jennifer’s movement while she is working on the wool which means that she is nervous and not confident, unlike the tigers that are certain in their movements.)
  2. Wedding band: an engagement ring.
  3. Massive: heavy or huge

Explanation:  Aunt Jennifer’s hands are moving about her wool to create beautiful images of tigers. But the movement is not easy and smooth. Aunt finds the ivory needle very hard to pull through the wool. The Uncle’s wedding band seems very heavy on her hand. She feels burdened with her marital (wedding) responsibilities.

(Aunt always fears from her husband. Her marital life is burdened for her. Through this stanza, the poet wants to carry the fact that a woman does not feel easy carrying he martial life. Her humor does not matter before her husband. She feels so much subjected that the marital bond is a burden on her. This is also with Aunt Jennifer.)

Stanza‐ 3.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hand will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by

The tigers in the panel that she maid

Will go on prancing proud and unafraid

IMPORTANT WORDS:

  1. Terrified: Extreme fear or extremely afraid of something.
  2. Ordeals:  A very unpleasant experience.
  3. Mastered: Gain control over.

Explanation:  The final stage reveals Aunt Jennifer will remain terrified always in her life as well as after her death. She will be confident with unpleasant painful experiences after her death because she is mastered by her husband. The tiger in the panel that she made will go on jumping. They will be proud and unafraid.

LITERARY DEVICES USED IN THE POEM:

PERSONIFICATION

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen.

METAPHOR

Ringed with ordeals: means even death would not free her as the wedding band; a symbol of oppression would yet be o her finger.

SYMBOLS AND IMAGES:

Wedding band- a symbol of oppression in an unhappy marriage. Its weight refers to the burden of gender expectations .ringed means encircled or trapped, losing individuality and freedom.

Aunt Jennifer- is a typical victim of male oppression in an unhappy marriage, who suffers a loss of individuality, dignity, and personal freedom silently. She becomes dependent, fearful and frail.

Tigers- symbolize untamed free spirit. Here they stand in contrast to their creator's personality. The use of colours implies that Aunt Jennifer's tigers and their land are more vital and enjoy a sense of freedom far greater than her. They pace and prance freely, proudly, fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men.

Yellow (bright topaz) represents the sun and fierce energy, green reminds one of spring and vitality.

Embroidery- a symbol of creative expression. The artwork expresses the Aunt’s suppressed desires and becomes her escape from the oppressive reality of her life.

Poem-6

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

By Adrienne Rich

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Poem Introduction

A woman expresses her deep feelings through her art in the poem. She (Aunt Jennifer) is a victim of a male-dominated society. Furthermore, she has no one with whom she can share her physical pain. So she draws a picture to express her deep emotions.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Poem Summary

Aunt Jennifer's inner feelings are expressed by the poet. The aunt is embroidering a motif of energetic, fearless tigers running freely through the lush greenery. She lives a life of submission to her husband's authority. He dominates her actions, and she is constantly afraid of him. The free and fearless tigers pattern reflects her inner desire to live a free and fearless life. Tigers are graceful, elegant, and brilliant. Aunt Jennifer's fingers tremble as she stitches. She is elderly, but she still fears her husband. She does not have the freedom to do whatever she wants.

She is also terrified of his wrath as she embroiders. She has been fulfilling her husband's demands since the day they married. The wedding ring on her finger serves as a constant reminder that she is her husband's property. The strain of her demanding marriage has worn her down. The agony will not end until she dies. The ring will remain on her hand even after she dies, and she will never be free. The tigers she is embroidering, on the other hand, will be free to roam forever. Her tigers will carry on her desire for freedom and fearlessness.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Poem Explanation

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.

  • Prance : walk or move around with high springy steps.
  • Topaz : a bright yellow coloured stone.
  • Denizens : here, an animal that lives or is found in a particular place.
  • Sleek : elegant.
  • Chivalric : being courteous esp. to women, an act of a gentleman.

The poet is describing a woman she refers to as Aunt Jennifer. Aunt Jennifer, she says, is embroidering on a piece of cloth that could be a tablecloth or a wall hanging. She designed it with beautiful tigers running fearlessly through the green forest. She described their beauty by comparing them to topaz, a precious yellow stone. She says that they stand out against the green backdrop of the forest. They are fearless and are unaffected by men's presence. We can see the difference in behaviour between the tigers and aunt here; the tigers she designed are fearless, but she is afraid of her husband. The poet goes on to say that tigers are proud and fearless original inhabitants of the forests. They have a very shining and elegant appearance.

Literary Devices

Rhyme scheme: aabb

Anaphora: use of same word in two consecutive lines (they do not … and they pace in…)

Metaphor: Use of topaz to describe the yellow color of tigers (Bright topaz)

Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.

  • Fluttering : to move in quick, irregular motions as if being agitated.

The poet describes Aunt Jennifer's fear of her husband in this passage. She says that her fingers are quivering (shaking) in fear of her husband while she is embroidering. Her husband disapproves of her embroidery hobby. As a result, she trembles while embroidering the piece of cloth. Her needle has become difficult for her to pull up and down. Then she describes Aunt Jennifer's wedding ring, which was given to her by her uncle on their wedding day. She says that wearing this ring is a burden for her. Her husband has tortured her so much that the wedding ring, which could have been a beautiful gift for her, has become a burden to her. She has faced so many challenges in her marriage that the small ring is described as a heavy band on her trembling fingers. This means that the ring is associated with some negative experiences she has had as a result of her husband's domineering behaviour.

Literary device:

Rhyme scheme: aabb

Alliteration: ‘f’ sound is repeated in finger fluttering

When Aunt 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.

  • Ordeals: extremely severe tests or experiences.
  • Prancing : to move around proudly.

The poet says that through her tiger designs, one can easily sense aunt's desire for freedom and fearlessness. She goes on to say that aunt will not be able to achieve this freedom during her lifetime. She will only obtain it after her death, but the irony of her life is that she will still be bound with shackles in the form of her husband's wedding ring. The ring was the only physical evidence of her husband's tortures. On the other hand, Aunt Jennifer's tigers will always represent her desire to live a fearless life by jumping proudly and bravely on the piece of cloth.

Literary devices

Rhyme scheme: aabb

alliteration: ‘p’ is repeated in prancing proud

About the Poet

Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1951 and was awarded the Yale Series of Younger Poets prize that same year for her poem A Change of World (Yale University Press, 1951). She married Harvard University economist Alfred H. Conrad in 1953. Two years later, she published The Diamond Cutters (Harper & Brothers, 1955). Rich received the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets for outstanding and proven mastery of the art of poetry. She passed away on March 27, 2012, at the age of 82.