In her “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” Adrienne Rich forthrightly expresses the truth of the ordeal faced by women in a conventional marriage. The poem is beautifully written with stunning imagery and an excellent rhyming scheme. The author uses the poem to address the oppression women go through in their day-to-day activities and the requirement of their liberation from a male-dominated society. She uses the 3rd narrative to set herself aside from Aunt Jennifer, the main character in the poem. The central theme of the poem is the oppression of Aunt Jennifer in a traditional marriage. She stands for the sufferings faced by women in their day-to-day activities when it comes to marriage life. In the essay at hand, I will examine the ordeals faced by women in a conventional marriage across the world and their quest to be liberated from a male-dominated society.
In its beginning, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers are said to be prancing across a screen. They appear to be moving in a fashion that is lovely and maybe in an egotistical way. On top of that, the tigers are described as topaz denizens of a green’s world, most likely to show their impenetrability and strength (Turner 10). The tigers are not afraid of men sitting under a tree, an indication that they are aware of the power they have in due course. Although they appear not to fear the men, the tigers’ movement seems to be restricted to the tree’s top by the presence of men below it.
As Aunt Jennifer focuses on her needlework, her fingers are described as “fluttering” on the wool (Rich 1). “Fluttering” in this context can denote the elegant movement of her fingers because of her stitching work. However, the term can also be expressing the anxiety that was rising in her. Aunt Jennifer thought to appear to be right since she is said to have complexity when pulling the needle as she focuses on her needlework. There are higher chances that the latter’s nervousness is a result of the oppressive behavior of her uncle. Her uncle’s wedding ring gave her “sits heavily upon,” but that cannot be a reason why she has difficulties in her stitching (Rich 1). The imagery of the “wedding ring” makes the poem to appear “poetic”. The ring is used symbolically to express the uncle’s oppressive, violent, demanding, or severe nature towards her. His attitude towards her has a significant impact on Aunt Jennifer’s emotional state, and this is portrayed via distinctive marks of nervousness.
The reader is told that Aunt Jennifer’s “terrified hands” will still be “ringed” with the ordeals she faced in her lifetime (Rich 1). His uncle is the one who made her go through all these sufferings. The latter uses tigers to paint an image of the character she would have wished to be and how a society should be kind to people. The tigers are portrayed as powerful, yet they do not use their power to oppress others like what her uncle made Aunt Jennifer’s life be ultimately (Turner 10). Under normal circumstances, ivory comes from elephants that are usually mastered and even killed by human beings. Aunt Jennifer uses ivory needles to show the sufferings women go through in the hands of men. The needle is used as artistry’s tool that she likes and it exhibits complexity in pulling thus showing weariness. The wedding ring symbolizes the uncle’s oppressive nature, while the use of sheep’s wool is synonymous with another feature of marriage between Aunt Jennifer and her uncle. In this context, sheep are used to symbolize persons who are either conventional or traditional. The latter appears to blame herself for being involved in a marriage because it is formal rather than being a necessity in life.
In summing up, Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger is, without a doubt, a well-created poem. It provides a perfect image of concepts that the writer was preoccupied with. The intention of Rich seems to give the whole society an awakening call with the message of women’s freedom. In other words, women should be allowed to make their choices in life because they end up facing unnecessary suffering at the end of the day. The author seems to express the idea that the days of having a male-dominated society are long gone. She has a great feeling that the liberation of women was significantly beckoning and nothing should come on its way.
Work Cited
Rich, Adrienne. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” Gilbert and Gubar, Norton Anthology of Literature by Women (1955).
Turner, Samuel. “Subversion and Containment in Adrienne Rich’s” Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism 8.2 (2015): 10.
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