Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary
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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary – In this blog post, I’m providing a summary of “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” that can help Class 12 students preparing for the CBSE Board Exam in 2023. This summary aims to assist students in understanding the key points of the poem and can be a helpful resource for their exam preparation.
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
—Adrienne Rich
About the Poet Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
Adrienne Cecile Rich, born in 1929 and passing away in 2012, was an American poet, essayist, and a strong advocate for radical feminism. She was celebrated as “one of the most influential poets of the latter half of the 20th century” and recognized for bringing attention to the struggles and mistreatment of women. Rich’s works played a vital role in shedding light on the challenges women faced, inspiring a deeper understanding of their oppression in society.
Theme of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
The poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich talks about how women can feel controlled by the power of men in society. It shows that even though women might seem limited or restricted, their thoughts and inner strength remain free. Aunt Jennifer creates embroidered tigers that are bold and strong, which stand in contrast to her own situation as a wife feeling oppressed and confined. This difference highlights the idea that, despite outer restrictions, women still hold their inner power and courage.
Background
Freedom has always been an important value in the United States that most people are not willing to give up. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a writer who lived in the 1800s, reminded Americans of their right to liberty at a time when many people started to conform to established norms.
He voiced his opinions about the loss of freedom and invited society to realize that they were relinquishing their rights. Years later, his views still had an impact on the citizens.
Adrienne Rich, a poet of the mid-1900s, also found her autonomy a necessity in life. She wrote a poem in 1951 called “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” which exhibited her opinions about living a life of reliance on others.
Justification of the Title Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
The title is appropriate as the poem is about a woman, Aunt Jennifer, who is trapped in an unhappy marriage. She embroiders a picture of prancing tigers. This represents her desire as she pines for the qualities that she has endowed to the tigers.
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Message of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is a statement of conflict in women, specifically between the impulse to freedom and imagination. Aunt Jennifer wants a life that she embroiders on the panel. She wants a colourful vibrant life which every woman should have the power to create.
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary
The poet Adrienne Rich talks about how women like her Aunt Jennifer face limits in married life because of men having more power. Aunt Jennifer creates embroidered tigers that move across the fabric. These tigers are a strong yellow color. They might represent Aunt Jennifer’s desire for freedom and strength in a world where she feels controlled.
They are the residents (denizens) or inhabitants of a green world (green forest). Their spirit is free and they are not afraid of the men shown beneath the tree. They walk about fearlesly with confidence and with free movements, unperturbed or undisturbed by anything around them.
Aunt Jennifer is working hard on her embroidery, but her shaky fingers show she lacks confidence and struggles to handle the ivory needles. This suggests she’s timid and scared, likely because of mistreatment by her husband.
The wedding band that she wears on her finger appears to be heavy metaphorically speaking, depicting the ordeals and sufferings that she has been subjected to. Such is the trauma of Jennifer’s life that it may continue to haunt her even after her death.
Her hands will still depict the ring (bowed down) which symbolizes the ordeals that suppressed her during her lifetime. On the other hand, her creative expression will continue to live in the form of the tigers that she has created in her panel.
The tigers depict a free-spirited being who will continue to prance proud and unafraid.
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