Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
Question 1.
How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?
Answer:
The words ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ refer to the fearlessness and confidence of the tigers. They are male and enjoy freedom.
Question 2.
Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering’ through her wool in the second stanza? Why is she finding the needle so hard to pull?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering’ through her wool while she is embroidering tigers on the panel. Her needle work is a medium for expressing herself. But she is finding it difficult to make those tigers and expressing those feelings due to oppression and weight of marriage, gender role and a dominating society.
Question 3.
What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’?
Answer:
The “massive weight of uncle’s wedding band’ refers to the male-dominated society in which Aunt Jennifer lives. The weight of this marriage band restricts her from expressing her feelings and to live freely.
Question 4.
Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified in the third stanza?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer is terrified of the dominance of her husband in the patriarchal society in which she is living. She is oppressed and bonded and is denied any freedom in her life.
Question 5.
What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by? Why is it significant that the poet uses the word ‘ringed’? What are the meanings of the word ‘ringed’ in the poem.
Answer:
The ‘ordeals’ refer to the responsibilities and duties that Aunt Jennifer has been doing in a patriarchal society. The poet has used the word ‘ringed’ so as to emphasize the fact that she has to carry the weight of her marriage band, whether dead or alive.
Question 6.
Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting through this difference?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer created tigers that are fearless and confident. They are the opposite of what Aunt Jennifer is in reality. In fact, through her creations, she wants to express her longing for being confident and strong. The poet, through this difference, wants to emphasize the impact of the oppression on women in a male-dominated society.
Question 7.
Interpret.the symbols found in this poem.
Answer:
Tiger and ring are two symbols used in the poem. The tiger is a symbol of power, confidence and masculine world. ‘Ring’, though represented as ‘wedding ring’, refers to the band or chain that binds a person to enslave him. The ‘tiger’ represents the longing of Aunt Jennifer, whereas ‘ring’ refers to her present position of oppressed and subjugated by the male-dominated world.
Question 8.
Do you sympathise with Aunt Jennifer? What is the attitude of the speaker towards Aunt Jennifer?
Answer:
Yes, I do sympathise with Aunt Jennifer. The speaker also has her sympathies for Aunt Jennifer. In fact, the poem is a ‘feminist’ poem which criticizes the male-dominated world for terrifying and denying the women equal rights.
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers – Solved Question Bank
Reference-to-context Exercises
Read the extracts given below.
Question 1.
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Answer the following.
(a) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance about her room. (True/False)
(b) The tigers are not afraid of the men beneath the tree. (True/False)
(c) What is meant by a ‘world of green’.
(d) The tigers pace on the screen in chivalric _________ .
Answer:
(a) False
(b) True
(c) a forest
(d) certainty
Question 2.
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
Answer the following.
(a) Aunt Jennifer and her tigers prance across the screen. (True/False)
(b) The tigers are the denizens guarding Aunt Jennifer. (True/False)
(c) The tigers are seen dancing across the _________ .
(d) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers were made on a _________ .
Answer:
(a) False
(b) False
(c) screen
(d) screen
Question 3.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Answer the following.
(a) ‘They’ in the passage are the tigers on Aunt Jennifer’s tapestry. (True/False)
(b) The tigers are beneath the tree. (True/False)
(c) The men in the tapestry are placed _________ a tree.
(d) The tigers in the tapestry _________ about with certainty.
Answer:
(a) True
(b) False
(c) beneath
(d) pace
Question 4.
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.
Answer the following.
(a) Aunt Jennifer’s fingers flutter as she holds the wool. (True/False)
(b) Aunt Jennifer’s needle is of massive weight. (True/False)
(c) What sits heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand?
(d) Aunt Jennifer uses an _________ needle for her work.
Answer:
(a) True
(b) False
(c) Wedding band
(d) ivory
Question 5.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Answer the following.
(a) Aunt Jennifer’s hands died feeling terrified. (True/False)
(b) Even when Aunt Jennifer died she was still _________ by her ordeals.
(c) The tigers in the panel continued to _________ even after she had died.
(d) The poet uses the personification of the _________ to depict her terrified state.
Answer:
(a) False
(b) ringed
(c) prance
(d) hands
Question 6.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Answer the following.
(a) The lines talk of the time when Aunt Jennifer will be dead. (True/False)
(b) Aunt Jennifer and her ordeals will follow her after her death. (True/False)
(c) Besides Svedding band’, what is the other significance of ‘ringed’.
(d) The two qualities that Aunt Jennifer’s tigers had were pride and _________ .
Answer:
(a) True
(b) True
(c) surrounded
(d) fearlessness
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Short Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Aunt Jennifer’s efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer’s effort to get rid of her fear of Uncle proved futile because all through her life she remained subservient and conformed to the patriarchal society. She felt trapped in a failed marriage and succumbed to the male-dominated world.
Question 2.
What picture of male chauvinism (tyranny) do we find in the poem, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’?
Answer:
The poem depicts how Aunt Jennifer feels oppressed by her tyrannous husband who stifles her creativity and freedom by dominating her. He represents a typical male of a patriarchal society.
Question 3.
How does the poet show the futility of Aunt Jennifer’s efforts?
Answer:
All her life, Aunt Jennifer pined for freedom of spirit from her burdensome husband and gave vent to her feelings by creating fearless and majestic tigers. And even in her death, she had to conform to the patriarchal society as she carried the weight of the ring around her finger. Her efforts never bore fruit.
Question 4.
What lies heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand? How is it associated with her husband?
Answer:
The ‘wedding ring’ lies heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand. This is associated with her husband because his dominant behaviour has oppressed Aunt Jennifer and made the ‘wedding ring’ a heavy burden for her.
Question 5.
Why has Aunt Jennifer made ‘prancing, proud and unafraid’ tigers?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer has tried to express herself through her art. She has created proud, prancing, unafraid tigers on her panel because she wants herself to be like her tigers, confident with freedom to live her life in her own way.
Question 6.
Do you sympathise with Aunt Jennifer? Why?
Answer:
Yes, I do sympathise with Aunt Jennifer because she is in a pathetic condition. She is oppressed and
denied any freedom. She is living a life of a slave. In fact, it is totally inhuman to take away anyone’s . freedom.
Question 7.
What will happen when Aunt Jennifer is dead?
Answer:
The tigers that she has made will remain the same even when Aunt Jennifer is dead. They will still remain on the panel prancing with confidence and chivalry. In fact, the masculine world which suppressed her will continue to enjoy freedom which was denied to her.
Question 8.
How does Aunt Jennifer express her bitterness and anger against the male domination?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer expresses her anger and bitterness against the male domination by creating proud, fearless, chivalric tigers on a panel.
Question 9.
How are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers different from her?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer is a meek and suppressed woman in a male-dominated society. She is denied every kind of freedom and is always oppressed. But the tigers that she has made are free, bold, confident, chivalric, and courageous.
Question 10.
What are the difficulties that Aunt Jennifer faced in her life?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer was dominated by her husband. She was denied every kind of freedom and was oppressed. In the male-dominated society, Aunt Jennifer was enslaved and subjugated to all kinds of oppression.
Question 11.
How do the words, ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of Aunt Jennifer’s tigers?
Answer:
The tigers are referred to as ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ as they are in their habitats. They are fearless and gallant. These tigers are confident and masters of their domain. They have respectable position in the world of animals.
Question 12.
Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tigers on the panel?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer lived an oppressed life. But she wanted to have a life of freedom and wanted to be confident and bold. In order to express his inner feelings and longings of her heart, she embroidered tigers on the panel.
Question 13.
Why does Aunt Jennifer create animals that are so different from her own character?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer used her art as a medium to vent out her oppressed feelings. She made the tigers which were confident and majestic. She had been a victim of male chauvinism and was submissive and subdued. But she wanted to be free and liberated like tigers. That’s why she created animals that were so different from her own character.
Question 14.
What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead?
Answer:
The tigers that Aunt Jennifer has embroidered will outlive her. They will keep on moving blatantly, confidently and intrepidly even after her death as they belong to the piece of art which is immortal.
Question 15.
How is Aunt Jennifer different from her tigers?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are fearless and confident, whereas Aunt Jennifer is submissive and subdued. Aunt Jennifer is terrified of the patriarchal society in which she lived. She is oppressed by her husband. She is meek and weak unlike the tigers who are chivalric and enjoy freedom.
Question 16.
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are totally different from her own character. Highlight this contrast.
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are in contrast to Aunt Jennifer herself. Aunt Jennifer is submissive and is oppressed by her husband. She is victimized and subjugated by the male-dominated world. She has been denied the freedom to live as per her own wish. On the contrary, the tigers created by Aunt Jennifer represent her longing for freedom. These tigers are dominating and chivalric. They conduct themselves in a heroic fashion and are confident and bold.
Question 17.
‘The tigers represent Aunt Jennifer’s spirit and her hands represent her reality.’ How?
Answer:
The tigers that Aunt Jennifer created represent her spirit. She was bold and confident in her spirit. But her hands trembled and could not pull the needle which depicts her reality. She was oppressed and dominated by her husband in real life. Her hidden desire to break free is detected in the tigers she embroidered.
Question 18.
Why does Aunt Jennifer seek refuge in art?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer was oppressed and dominated by her husband. But she wanted to break free from this oppression and become a confident and respectable person. She was not able to do so in real life. She created the tigers which symbolise her freedom of spirit. Thus she displayed her inner desire through her art.
Question 19.
What impression do you gather regarding Aunt Jennifer’s husband?
Answer:
Aunt Jennifer’s husband is a male chauvinistic who believes in dominating his wife. He seems to be a tyrant who never bothers for the joys and sorrows of his wife. In fact, he represents a callous, emotionless husband in a male-dominated society.
Question 20.
Explain the irony at the end of the poem.
Answer:
It is ironic that even death would not liberate Aunt Jennifer from the oppression that she faced. Her fingers remained ‘ringed’ with the uncle’s wedding band. But the tigers that she made would always remain fearless and bold.
Question 21.
What message does the poet want to convey through this poem?
Answer:
The poet, Adrienne Rich, has tried to depict the theme of male chauvinism where a woman has no liberty, not even self-expression. The poem emphasises the value of freedom and brings out the message that women need to be respected and should have liberty to live their live according to their i own desires.
