Department of English UGS

Women Literature

BS-8th -B

Submitted to: Dr. Farah Hashmi

Submitted By: Zia Ur Rehman

Roll no: E-17272

Date: 04-10-2020
 AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGERS
By Adrienne Rich

Thematic Analysis

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers is a twelve lines versed poem written by Adrienne Rich. Adrian
Rich was a feminist and also an activist for LGTB community. She was a famous poetess and
critic and her agenda is clearly visible in the earliest of her poems which is under assessment
at the moment. This poem is one of her earliest works. The themes she followed in the poem
were of the same nature as of her career. She talked about oppression on women and also the
misogynistic society. The event described in the poem is not specific to her nation, but such
events can be seen in all countries of the world. She simply stated an event she observed in
her surrounding which was considered trivial by others. Though west claims to be highly
supportive of women and their rights and also that the have brought the gender gap to
minimum it's still a bluff. Such practices are still there. However here in east, it’s a common
practice and still considered trivial. The woman when married to a man is bound to him in all
aspects and though death stops the suffering but the bond which was created by marriage still
remains. Women are still chained to their men and its a harsh reality that they aren't allowed
to escape even when constitution allows. The law promises to protect women but the
institutions who implement those laws overlook such incidents and work unjustly in name of
customs and traditions.

Oppression of Women

In Aunt Jennifer's Tigers, three main themes can be observed. First of them is the
Oppression of Women. In the poem, it is clearly seen that Aunt Jennifer who is a married
housewife is working on tapestry creating a magnificent view of prancing tigers on a green
field. The poem shows her work is tiresome and she is old and her hand trembles maybe with
age and tiredness but surely because of the weight of hardships and pains which are imposed
on her in form of marriage. The poet further states that her hardships won't end until she dies.
Even as she lies dead in her grave, her hand which has finally gotten rest still has the ring on
it, the ring which symbolizes the cage she lived in all her life. So, symbolically the poetess
refers to all the hardships faces by the female part of the world. They are married without
their consent and even after marriage they live a life of hard work which remains unrewarded.
The society she lived in considered women to be inferior to them. They weren't allowed to
work for themselves and become independent. They remained as slaves who were not labeled
but obvious.

Male Dominance

The second theme is of Male Dominance. It is much similar to the first theme. It
shows how the society we live in is ruled by males. The poetess uses the word chivalry for
tigers which Aunt Jennifer is creating; this word however is rarely find is man's nature.
Chivalry is a word used for a gentleman who is brave, righteous and kind. Even today you
still hear the phrase that the chivalry is still alive. However, in majority of the society it is
dead. So the tigers that aren't afraid of men but still are not hurting them are chivalrous. It is
also observed in many researches that the domestic violence which occurs in which wives are
beaten at home mainly occurs because males project there in securities on their wives and
then beat them to prove how manly they are. I once heard a phrase from lips of a mother. She
said that her sons wife isn't good to her and always makes trouble for her so one day she was
tired of complaining to her son and said to her son that she will leave the house. Son
unwanting to let go of his mother, beated his wife in front of his mother. The mother
described it as "He was a real man that day as he obeyed his mother". It is very heart
saddening event but at the same time also shows how manipulation in eastern families occur
and how they are told.

Immortality of Art

The third and last theme which I observed in the poem is of Immortality of Art. The
poetess describes that even though women reside in an oppressive world and even though
their rights are being violated and the are not free, they can still produce art. Art isn't just
poetry or prose, if an artist creates something, it becomes art and art is immortal. Even though
Aunt Jennifer will die and she will never be free of the bond with her husband, but her art
will be free. The artistic panel on which she sewed that scene of prancing tigers on a green
place, with her trembling fingers and an ivory needle, that art will be her legacy and it will
live on in one way or another because art never dies.