Adrienne Rich - Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Flashcards
A powerful dynamic verb
Shows the Tigers confidence, the contrast to Aunt Jennifer who is timid and afraid
Aunt Jennifer is so talented that the Tigers seem to come to life
“Prance”
“Chivalric”
Rich gives a detailed description of the piece of art
It is dazzling and a testimony to Jennifer skill
It’s eye-catching and the Tigers elegance comes across well
Her artwork is of such a high quality that the animals seem to move with a will of their own
“Bright topaz denizens of a world of green”
We can tell I’m embroidery is Aunt Jennifer’s outlet for creativity and imagination
She is fragile, sensitive and physically weak unlike the Tigers who flaunt their confidence and strength
“Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through the wall find even the needle hard to pull”
We now see the source of her fragility and weakness. It was not from within as she is intelligent and talented. But rather she is constricted by her role in society.
She could have potentially been capable of greatness had she not conformed to marriage and she is dominated by her husband
Is clear how marriage held women back in the 1950s
“The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand”
Synecdoche
Her hands represent her personality. From studying just her hands we get an idea of who she is
She dies unhappy
The poet resents the subjugation of her Aunt
The poet feels a sense of injustice
Suggests the marriage was a traumatic experience for her
“When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie still ringed with the ordeals she was mastered by”
Her Aunt’s character will live on in her art
Art endures but inequality continues
The needlework was her victory against the patriarchy as the tigers were a symbol of her inner personality
“Go on prancing, proud and unafraid”
Form
Rigid rhyming scheme
Written at 21 she later breaks free of these constraints
The form is apt as it represents Jennifer’s constraints
