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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich

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 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.

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.

Analysis:

Adrienne Rich's poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" depicts the image of a woman creating a tapestry of tigers on a screen. These tigers serve as a representation of the agency that she does not possess in her own life. They are the foil to her; while they "prance across the screen," her only movement within her life is that of "fingers fluttering" to create art. She is unable to actually escape from "the massive weight of Uncle's wedding band," and that weight even makes it difficult for her to express herself through her sewing. The tigers, however, are "denizens of a world of green," provided actual citizenship of their own, and not dependent upon marriage and being spoken for by a husband. Furthermore, the tigers in the tapestry "do not fear the men beneath the tree." Despite the fact that the poachers serve a very real threat to their lives, they do not fear being exploited, due to confidence in their "chivalric certainty". Chivalry is a term generally granted to knights, who, of course, are traditionally male. It consists of strength of character, virtue, and body. The tigers are certain that they will be able to take on any threat that the poachers beneath them pose. After all, they are placed symbolically beneath them on the ground near the tree's base. There is a stratification there. The jungle is their own home territory, and for this reason, they are not ruled by men. However, even this ideal is questioned in the real world, as the needle Aunt Jennifer uses is made of ivory, which relies on the poaching of elephants for their tusks.

The last stanza alludes to the future, after the death of the speaker's aunt. She knows that her Aunt will die, still "ringed with ordeals she was mastered by." Aunt Jennifer will still be married and oppressed under the weight of an uneven social system, which is degrading to women. In comparison, the tigers in the tapestry are eternally alive and free. However, at least Aunt Jennifer managed to create something beautiful and representative of how she desired the world to be. This, in a sense, was her only agency, and her means of having a voice: her art. It was her legacy after death. The only thing comparable is the imprint that was made into the heart of the speaker, upon seeing such an expression of fearlessness, assertion, and power by a women so obviously despotized by expectations for females of the period. This legacy continues in the speaker, as perhaps time and willpower will allow her to live something more akin to the life of one of Aunt Jennifer's tigers.