The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid
These are the concluding lines of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich, one of the leading feminist poets of American literature. Here we find a vivid picture of Aunt Jennifer's tigers which symbolize the undaunted wishes of female freedom.
Aunt Jennifer is the typical middle aged woman with an unhappy married life. Her experience of the conjugal life has made her passive, terrified and overpowered by the possessive husband. However, the tigers in her tapestry-works are animated and lively. Aunt Jennifer's life is controlled and male dominated but the tigers are free, fearless and proud. The tigers represent those values that Jennifer has to repress in her real life. The strength, assertion, fearlessness, and independence projected in the movements of the tigers are contrasted to the life of bondage and slavery of a typical woman. This glorious example of joy and freedom also highlights the dreams of Jennifer. In real life she is a passive agent, in the dreams she is active just like her creations, the tigers.
The concluding stanza sounds highly surrealistic. Overriding all norms, the tigers or the repressed dreams of Jennifer move on. The boldness of that life highlights the falsehood of conventional married life which is based on fear and inhibitions. The poem's conclusion celebrates the animal imagery as a kind of triumph over male domination. The tigers point at the differences between her actual social status and her subconscious vision.
