Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers (Points to remember)

1. The poem highlights the power dynamics of marriage in a patriarchal society,

where traditionally men dominate women
2. The poem was written in 1951 , when divorce was frowned upon
3. The unnamed speaker of the poem dwells into the married life of Aunt J
4. Aunt J is trapped in an unhappy marriage and leads a life of fear (terrified of
her husband)
5. Her marriage has become a shackle/ chain/ constraint that has tied her down
6. Marriage has robbed her of her identity, individuality , dreams and desires as
an individual in her own right.
7. To obtain cathartic relief (emotional relief through an art form) she falls back
on the creative outlet of embroidery
8. She deliberately creates a beautiful tapestry of tigers leaping and prancing in
a forest, unafraid of the men ( hunters) nearby
9. The tigers are described as sleek & chivalric; they are graceful & elegant,
majestic and noble, brave, courageous and stride (pace) with confidence as if they
own the forest where they live
10. Aunt J, who lacks the courage to stand up for herself and is too meek, timid
and helpless to assert her individuality, is described as embroidering tigers that are
infused with qualities she lacks completely, but wishes to possess; they are her polar
opposites
11. The tigers are also described as chivalric; (chivalry suggests showing respect &
courtesy to women which Aunt J has never received from the man in her life)
12. Metaphor: The tigers are compared to bright topaz (yellow gemstone known
for its hardness) as opposed to the timid aunt whose life is dull, drab, and dreary
13. Fear infuses every part of Aunt J’s life to the extent that she even finds it
difficult to pull the ivory needle through the canvas (symbolism)
14. This implies that she is weighed down/ repressed/ suppressed by marriage in
a patriarchal society
15. Massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band (symbolism & metonymy**). The
marriage has become a burden for her from which there is no escape
16. Terrified hands: Transferred epithet and synecdoche***
17. Even death won’t bring her solace…..she will carry the trauma with her to the
grave
18. Ringed: 2 meanings- 1. Refers to the ring she wears on her finger (she will be
buried with the wedding ring after she dies)
2. symbolic of being engulfed/ surrounded by the
ordeals she suffered as a wife (permanent psychological
scars)
19. Mastered by : suggestion that her husband was her master and she was his slave (
the dynamics of their relationship is highlighted here)
 20. The tapestry she has so beautifully embroidered will stay on for ever (transience
of life vs the permanence of art)
(Perhaps Aunt Jennifer finds comfort in crafting a bold tapestry that will outlive her. Her art
shows nature's creatures living wild and unafraid, liberated from man-made constraints like
marriage in a patriarchal society.)

1. ***Synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or

vice versa, as in England lost by six wickets (meaning ‘ the English cricket team’). So ,
here , ‘hands’(part) represents Aunt Jennifer ( the whole person)
2. **metonymy, (from Greek metōnymia, “change of name,” or “misnomer”), figure of
speech in which the name of an object or concept is replaced with a word closely
related to or suggested by the original, For eg: “crown” means “king”
The massive weight of uncle’s wedding band : wedding band or ring stands for
marriage