Interpret the symbols found in this poem.(‘Aunt Jennifer's Tiger’)
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ANSWER :
The two main symbols used in the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer's Tiger’ are the tigers and the screen. Tiger represent the creative energy of women. The screen represents the range on which that creative energy works. Thus tigers are symbols of men produced by women. The screen is a symbol of the women's life on which men prance about.
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The poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tiger" written by Adrienne Rich focus on the life of an oppressed woman and her married life. She finds an escape from her daily life of oppression through the world of embroidery and sewing. She finds peace in this world. She creates a tiger through her embroidery art which is symbolic of her want of freedom and independence in her life. The color of the tiger is topaz and has a majestic appearance. This is symbolic of being fearless and harmless. The green forest symbolizes life and spring. It also denotes the rebirth or coming of the world in which the women can lead their life fearlessly. A life in which she would have an equal share in every decision making. Tiger also symbolizes confidence which is very important to make an equal space in the society. The fingers of Aunt is seen o be fluttering in fear and burden of the ivory needle. Even the ivory needle has more power than a woman has. The wedding band on the hand of Aunt proves to be very heavy in symbolic terms. The responsibilities and the roles in the marriage are seen to be laying a heavy burden on Aunt's life. This also signifies that the marriage is an unhappy one and Aunt is not happy in her life. The notion of patriarchy is also significant in the poem as a woman is seen escaping the world of man to a world of embroidery and sewing which is being pre-decided by the men for the women. The creativity of the hands of Aunt is being noted to be 'dead' which focus on the life of Aunt that her life has lost all its liveliness and creativity. Her submissiveness has led her creativity and art to bring down to death.