Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

By Adrienne Rich

ABOUT THE POET

Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)
American poet, essayist and feminist.
One of the most widely read and influenced poets of the second half of the 20th
century.
She talks about a woman’s experiences in her married life.
She has tried to explore the inner feelings of a woman who is 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 is describing a lady whom she addresses as Aunt Jennifer. She says that
Aunt Jennifer is doing embroidery on a piece of cloth which could be a table cloth or
a wall hanging. She has designed it with beautiful tigers which are running fearlessly
in the green forest. She has described their beauty by comparing them with a
precious yellow stone known as topaz. She says that they appear bright yellow in
the green backdrop of the forest. They are fearless and they are not affected by the
presence of men. Here we can sense the contrast of behavior between the tigers
and aunt, though the tigers designed by her are fearless but she herself is afraid of
her husband. Further, the poet says that the tigers are proud and fearless citizens of
the forests. They are very shiny and elegant.

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)

SECOND STANZA
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.
EXPLANATION
Here the poet describes the fear of Aunt Jennifer towards her husband. She says
that while she is doing embroidery, her fingers are quivering (shaking) with fear of
her husband. Her husband doesn’t approve of her hobby of embroidery. Therefore,
she trembles while she is embroidering the piece of cloth. It has become difficult for
her to pull her needle up and down. Then she describes the wedding ring which was
given by uncle to Aunt Jennifer on their wedding day. She says that it is a kind of
burden for her to wear this ring. She has been tortured by her husband so much that
the wedding ring which could have been a beautiful gift for her seems like a burden
to her. She has faced so many difficulties in her married life that the little ring is
described as a heavy band on her trembling fingers. This means that the ring is
associated with some bad experiences in the form of torture she has faced because
of her husband’s dominating behaviour.

Literary device:
Rhyme scheme: aabb
Alliteration: ‘f’ sound is repeated in finger fluttering

THIRD STANZA
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.
EXPLANATION
The poet says that one can easily sense aunt’s desire for freedom and fearlessness
through her design of tigers. Further she says that it is not possible for aunt to
achieve this freedom during her lifetime. She will attain it only after her death but
here also the irony of her life is that still, she will be tied up with shackles in the form
of her husband’s wedding ring. The ring was the sole proof of the tortures which she
had faced from her husband. On the other hand, there are the tigers designed by
Aunt Jennifer which will always depict her desire of living 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

New words
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.
Ordeals: extremely severe tests or experiences.
Prancing: to move around proudly.
Fluttering: to move in quick, irregular motions as if being agitated.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers- Summary

The poet expresses the inner feelings of a woman - Aunt Jennifer. The aunt is
embroidering a motif comprising of energetic, fearless tigers moving freely around
the bright greenery. She is living a life of submissiveness to her husband’s
command. Her acts are dominated by him and she fears him constantly. This
pattern of the free and fearless tigers reflects her inner desire to live a free and
fearless life. The tigers are graceful, elegant and bright.
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers tremble as she embroiders. She is old but still fears her
husband. She does not enjoy the freedom to do anything as per her wish. She is
scared doing the embroidery too and fears his wrath. Since the day she got married,
she has been fulfilling the demands of her husband. The wedding ring on her hand
is a constant reminder that she belongs to her husband. The burden of the
demanding marriage has exhausted her. The torment will not end until her death.
Even after her death, the ring will remain on her hand and she will never be free. On
the other hand, the tigers that she is embroidering will continue to move around
freely forever. Her desire of freedom and fearlessness will live on through her tigers.

Question and Answers

How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s

attitudes?
The word ‘denizens’ means that they are proud of their home, they feel safe there
and have a feeling of belonging attached to it. The word ‘chivalric’ shows that they
have a majestic and worthy position like knights.

Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through her wool’ in
the second stanza? Why is she finding the needle so hard to pull?
Her hands are fluttering probably because she is scared of her husband who could
come anytime and scold her for sitting idle and wasting her time doing embroidery.
She finds the needle so hard to pull because her fingers are tired of working
endlessly all through her life.

What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’?

‘Massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ suggest symbolically, that the bindings
and obligations of her marriage are so much that they have put a lot of burden and
stress on her.

Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified with in the third stanza?

She is terrified of her husband.
What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by, why is it significant
that the poet uses the word ‘ringed’? What are the meanings of the word
‘ringed’ in the poem?
The ‘ordeals’ are
Obeying her husband’s orders.
Fear of men.
Giving in to his dominance and fulfilling his commands.
‘Ringed’ indicates entrapment. As the ring encircles the finger, similarly, her
husband has encircled her in his clutches. Her body and soul are both trapped,
struggling for freedom and fearlessness.

Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her
own character? What might the poet be suggesting, through this difference?
I think that Aunt Jennifer’s intense desire for freedom and fearlessness came out
through her creativity. This is the time when she is with herself, and then, her
innermost feelings are expressed, here her medium of expression is the
embroidery. Through this difference it is shown that the lady is not what she is. Her
circumstances have made her so but even she has a desire to live life with respect
and pride.

Interpret the symbols found in this poem.

‘denizens of a world of green’ means inhabitants of the forest. Massive weight of
Uncle’s wedding band’ means the burden of marital obligations. ‘Sits heavily upon
Aunt’ means has laid a lot of stress on her. ‘Ringed with ordeals’ - to get entrapped
in hardships and sufferings.

Do you sympathize with Aunt Jennifer. What is the attitude of the speaker
towards Aunt Jennifer?
Yes, I sympathize with Aunt Jennifer. The speaker is also sympathetic towards her
and hates dominating men.