Poem : 5

“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”

- Adrienne Rich
The Theme:
The theme of the poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger” relates to the issue and subject
of make dominance in society. The theme wants to highlight the conflicts, issues and
struggles that a woman has to face in the male chauvinistic society. Aunt Jennifer is
essentially the protagonist in the poem and she symbolises or represents the women
across the globe who have been victims of persecution and oppression due to the
patriarchal system. The poet has expressed her concerns for the women via this poem.
Explanation:
In the first line, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers jump and move across a screen or panel.
It says that Aunt Jennifer is stitching something that is not clear to the readers. She has
created Tigers that are jumping and moving throughout. The Tigers represent her
suppressed desires to become bold and fearless and free from oppression.
In the second line, the Tigers are described as denizens or dwellers of dense green
forest and are brightly golden coloured. The Tigers reside within Aunt Jennifer. Tigers
usually live on their terms and fear no one, as they regard themselves to be superior in
their domain. This shows that Aunt Jennifer has a deep desire to live on her terms and
conditions in the male-dominated society.
In the third line, the Tigers within Aunt Jennifer are a symbol of strength as they
are not afraid of men standing under the tree. These Tigers are not real or living Tigers.
They are the images created by her on a tapestry. Aunt Jennifer, who is confined and
exploited by the oppressive hand of a patriarchal society, creates in her art an alternate
world of freedom.
In the fourth line, the Tigers move about with grace, elegance and confidence.
The Tigers symbolize her dreams, her desire to be free from the traumatized life that
she is living. The poet points in this stanza that women need to have these qualities to
fight against their male oppressors.
In the fifth line of the second stanza, Aunt Jennifer has created beautiful images
of Tigers with wool but her fingers are fluttering because she is nervous and most
probably she is scared of her father.
 In the sixth line, she is so nervous and her fingers are shaking that she cannot
even pull the ivory needle through the tapestry.
In the seventh line, the Aunt is wearing her wedding ring and she finds the weight
of the ring as a burden on her hand. This line indicates that she feels burdened with her
marital responsibilities.
In the eighth line, the ring on her finger is heavy because it metaphorically
indicates restrictions and challenges in Aunt Jennifer’s married life due to her
husband’s oppression over her.
Through this stanza, the poet says that her Aunt throughout her life glorifies her
husband but she feels so crushed now by the dominance of her husband that the marital
responsibilities become a burden on her.
In the ninth line of the third stanza, the poet says that her Aunt won’t be relieved
of her trauma after her death.
In the tenth line of the third stanza, the poet says that her Aunt Jennifer will
always be subjugated by the burden of marital ordeals and oppressions by her husband
even after her death.
In the eleventh and the last line of the third stanza, the poet says that the Tigers
created by Aunt Jennifer will remain eternal within her and they will always be proud
and fearless, jumping and moving with elegance and grace.
Conclusion:
This poem delivers a very important message in the context of women’s
experiences in a male-dominated society and how adversely it impacts the lives of
women, especially married women. Through her imagination and craft, the poet
touches on a very relevant and significant subject that continues to drive conversations
even today. The poem implores the women to bring courage by breaking the shackles
and becoming bold and fearless like the Tigers.
Literary Devices
1. Metaphor:
 It is used to make a comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do
have something in common.

E.g. “Bright topaz denizens” (tigers are compared with Bright topaz because
of their elegant colour).

2. Alliteration:
It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or
closely connected words.

E.g. “finger fluttering”, “prancing, proud”.

3. Symbolism:
It is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

E.g. “Bright topaz denizens” represents tigers’ elegant colours, “massive weight
of Uncle’s wedding band” represent male domination, “tigers” represent her
hidden desires.

4. Personification:
It is the attribution of human characteristics to animals and non-human
things.

E.g. “chivalric” is a word which was used for knights in medieval times. But
here, it is used for the tigers.

5. Hyperbole:
It is an exaggerated statement.

E.g. “massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band sits heavily upon Aunt
Jennifer’s hand.” The weight of wedding band cannot be heavy but, it
symbolises mental trauma of marriage.

6. Transferred Epithet:
It is a poetic device in which adjective is transferred from the noun it is
meant to describe to another noun in the sentence.
 E.g. “terrified hands” refer to Aunt Jennifer who herself is terrified.

7. Enjambment:
It is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.

E.g. “The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt
Jennifer’s hand.”