S.R.

DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, PUNDAG, RANCHI

A U NT J E N N I F E R ’ S
TIGERS

ADRIENNE RICH
Adrienne Rich, in full Adrienne Cecile Rich, (born
May 16, 1929, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.—died March
27, 2012, Santa Cruz, California),American poet,
scholar,teacher,and critic whose many volumes of
poetry trace a stylistic transformation from formal,
well-crafted but imitative poetry to a more personal
and powerful style.
Widely read, widely anthologized, widely
interviewed and widely taught, Ms. Rich was for
decades among the most influential writers of the
feminist movement and one of the best-known
American public intellectuals. She wrote two dozen
volumes of poetry and more than a half-dozen of
prose
AUNT JENNIFER'S TIGERS
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.

Aunt Jennifer's finger 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.

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.
 Aunt Jennifer creates a needlepoint that shows tigers
leaping across the canvas. Bright and vibrant, like
topaz gems, the tigers live within the green world of
the canvas.They are not afraid of the men standing
underneath the tree, who are also depicted in the
image.The tigers walk with certainty, shining and
courageous.
Aunt Jennifer's fingers swiftly and delicately work
the yarn, yet she finds it physically difficult to pull
SUMMARY even a small needle made of ivory through the
canvas. Her husband's wedding band feels huge, and
weighs down heavily on her hand.
When Aunt Jennifer dies one day, her frightened
hands will finally be still.Yet they will still be marked
by the difficulties that ruled over her while she was
alive. Meanwhile, the tigers she created will continue
to leap across her needlepoint without shame or fear.
OPPRESSION VERSUS
SELF-EXPRESSION I N
“AUNT JENNIFER’S
TIGERS”
AUNT JENNIFER'S TIGERS PRANCE ACROSS A SCREEN,
BRIGHT TOPAZ DENIZENS OF A WORLD OF GREEN.

In these lines, the speaker describes the tigers.They “prance across a

screen”.This implies that the tigers move in a lively fashion, perhaps
arrogantly.
They are “topaz denizens of a world of green”.The ancient Greeks believed that
topaz had the ability to increase the strength of those who wore it, and
Egyptians thought that it could protect people from physical harm (“Topaz”).
The speaker may be using the word topaz for its golden color, or topaz may be a
representation of the strength and impenetrability of the tigers.
 THEY DO NOT FEAR THE MEN
BENEATH THE TREE; THEY PACE IN
SLEEK CHIVALRIC CERTAINTY.
The tigers certainly seem to be aware of their own power since they have no fear of “the men
beneath the tree”.
In the last line of the first stanza the tigers “pace in sleek chivalric certainty”.The pacing of the
tigers may represent fluid and controlled motion, as compared to the frolicking movement of the
first line.
However, the tigers may be pacing back and forth, because their movement is restricted to their
treetop since there are men present below them.
The use of the word “sleek” is a quandary.The tigers may be attractive and healthy, or they may
contain that male quality of suaveness which is so often insincere. Yet, it is a “sleek chivalric
certainty”.
To be chivalrous is to be honorable and unwaveringly brave including behavior towards women.
Being honorable often implies sincerity.Therefore, “sleek chivalric” is either meant as an
oxymoron, or the tigers are attractive and considerate towards women.
 AUNT JENNIFER'S FINGER FLUTTERING THROUGH HER WOOL
FIND EVEN THE IVORY NEEDLE HARD TO PULL.
In the second stanza Aunt Jennifer is doing needlework. Her fingers are “fluttering through her wool” as
she stitches.This fluttering may be the graceful movement of her fingers as she works. On the other hand,
Aunt Jennifer’s fluttering fingers may be a sign of agitation within Aunt Jennifer. In this case, the latter
seems more likely, becauseAunt Jennifer is having difficulty pulling her needle as she stitches.
Yet,what does Aunt Jennifer have to be nervous about? Uncle, perhaps?
Naturally, ivory comes from animals that are normally mastered and even destroyed by men. Probably,
this explains why in her creations,Aunt Jennifer chose to utilize ivory needles just to express the oppression
women undergo in the hands of men. From the writer’s choice of terms, it is clear that the oppressive
behaviour of Uncle dominates Aunt Jennifer and causes her much anxiety.

(FOOTNOTES: fluttering:moving about in an aimless manner)

THE MASSIVE WEIGHT OF UNCLE’S WEDDING
BAND SITS HEAVILY UPON AUNT JENNIFER'S HAND.

Uncle’s wedding ring “sits heavily upon” her hand.The ring itself is certainly not so heavy as to impede her
stitching.

The ring seems to be symbolic of Uncle.Therefore, he is the one who is hampering Aunt Jennifer.

If the ring represents Uncle then how is he heavy? Is he demanding, severe,violent, oppressive,or even a
villain?

Any of these options are plausible since the speaker does not provide any information for them to be
contested.

However,Uncle is conceivably having negative effects on Jennifer’s emotional state if she is displaying
physical signs of agitation.
 WHEN AUNT IS DEAD, HER TERRIFIED HANDS WILL LIE
STILL RINGED WITH ORDEALS SHE WAS MASTERED BY.

The final stanza contains imagery that reflects back on the first two stanzas. The
reference of the hands symbolizes Aunt Jennifer as a whole. Though her death would free
her from her present miserable state, her hands will remain terrified with the wedding
ring which binds her to her ordeals that took complete control of her. The only sign of
her freedom from her present life is the art work which she escapes into by depicting the
prancing, proud and unafraid tigers which is what she really wants to be and which she
attains through her imagination.
 The tigers in the panel that she made Will go
on prancing,proud and unafraid.

Aunt Jennifer may have regrets about her marriage, and her lack of
understanding how oppressive it would be to her.Yet, she puts her energy into
creating an ideal in her tigers,“the tigers in the panel that she made”.
Even if Aunt Jennifer dies, her desire to become free from oppression does
not die with her. Her tigers will continue “prancing, proud and unafraid”
after she is gone.
The tigers represent what Jennifer believes marriage and men should be,
while at the same time representing the strength which Jennifer wishes that
she possessed.
The mortal Aunt Jennifer created immortal tigers.
 Irony- Wear and submissive woman weaving a

POETIC DEVICES picture of tigers that are strong and fearless

• Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen, Imagery

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree; Personification
Anaphora
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Alliteration
• Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Enjambment Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
Metonymy
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Hyperbole Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand. Transferred
epithet

• When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie Personification

Pun Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made Personification
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Alliteration
SYMBOLS IN THE POEM
• Wedding band- a symbol of oppression and unhappy marriage,
burdens of gender expectations, ringed means trapped, losing
individuality and freedom
• Aunt Jennifer- a typical victim of male oppression in an unhappy
marriage, dependent, fearful and frail
• Tigers- untamed free spirit, full of vitality, energy
• Uncle- oppressor, male dominance, patriarchal society
• Embroidery- a symbol of creative expression
• Aunt (in last stanza)- loss of identity, lost even her name
CONTRAST IN THE
POEM
• Aunt Jennifer is an oppressed woman dominated by male
superiority, is victimised, fearful, indecisive, weak, timid,
feeble, shivering in fear, stifled and weighed upon by
marriage, whereas the tigers she weaves are chivalric,
confident,fearless, assertive, strong, and energetic.
THEMES IN THE POEM
Womanhood, Marriage, Gender, and Power- The poem describes the "terrified"
Aunt Jennifer's fear-filled existence in a marriage full of "ordeals" in which she is ruled over
by her husband, referred to simply as "Uncle."

Creative Expression and Personal Freedom- Hampered by her fear, the one form
of escape Aunt Jennifer does have is through her creative work—crafting tapestry panels
that show colourful scenes of bold and proud tigers.The poem argues that through her
art Aunt Jennifer finds an escape that not even death will grant her—a hint of freedom in
the immortal nature of her work.

Immortality- The tigers will continue prancing after Aunt Jennifer's death, and thus
Aunt Jennifer will be able to live on through her art.