Essay on "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich.
Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" tells us a story about a woman, Aunt Jennifer, and her struggles with marriage and perhaps her role in the society of her time. The poem seems to be told from a more contemporary point of view than the subject of the poem holds, or at least portrays. This message is conveyed to the listener by someone close to Aunt Jennifer, most likely a member of the family. This is assumed by the use of the familiar, "Aunt" and "Uncle" by the teller. Rich may have used an outside perspective to further impress upon the reader Aunt Jennifer's inability to speak out for herself. In the first stanza, the teller's thoughts first introduce us to Aunt Jennifer's dreams. In the second stanza, we are introduced to the reality of Aunt Jennifer's world. The third is a narrative on the future. .
The second stanza gives the reader the feeling that Aunt Jennifer has had a confining and oppressive marriage. The lines "the massive weight of Uncle's wedding band/ Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand" tell of the burdensome nature of the marriage. The poem does not make specific reference to whether "Uncle's wedding band" is actually his ring she is wearing, perhaps due to his passing away, or merely that which represents her marriage to him. Assuming the latter, she sits nervously working with "fingers fluttering" and showing her age as "even the ivory needle is hard to pull" revealing a long, troubled time with Uncle. The true weight of a ring is not enough to slow one's hand, but the oppressive weight of what it represents that is preventing her from expressing herself, even in a needlepoint. She is trying to escape into her needlepoint, but the "weight" makes even the needlework most difficult.
In the first stanza, the use of the word "screen" in the first line of the poem conjures the idea that Aunt Jennifer watches these tigers as if they are on a film in her head.