Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow each: When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lieStill ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.The tigers in the panel that she madeWill go on prancing, proud and unafraid.Why are Aunt (2024)

FAQs

Why will aunt Jennifer's hands be ringed with ordeals after her death? ›

The poet uses Aunt Jennifer's hands as a synecdoche to mean Aunt Jennifer herself. She says that even after Aunt Jennifer is dead, her “terrified hands” would be “ringed with ordeals”. This means that she would never be free from the fear and oppression she faces at the hands of her husband.

Aunt Jennifer is, probably, terrified of the oppression of her chauvinist husband. She lives her life under constant pressure of duties and responsibilities of a married lady.

Her hands are called terrified because they passed through very hard and bitter experience of married life. Was this answer helpful?

Poets use "symbolism" to tie certain things which may "initially seem not important to more "universal themes". The symbols then represent these "grander ideas/qualities". "Ringed with ordeals" implies to get "entrapped in sufferings & hardships".

Conclusion: In death, Jennifer's terrified hands whisper a powerful message - a tale of fear, strength, and resilience. They reveal the depths of her struggles, the constraints of her marriage, and her unwavering determination to find her own way and conquer her fears.

Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified within the third stanza? Ans: Aunt Jennifer is undoubtedly afraid of her chauvinist husband's persecution. She is constantly pressed by the duties and responsibilities of a married woman.

Answer: Aunt Jennifer is, probably, terrified of the oppression of her chauvinist husband.

Mrs. Jennifer could not fulfill her inner desire to be free and prancing like the tiger in her piece of art. Throughout life, she remained mastered by her husband, and the fear and exploitation that she received from her marriage only added to her pains. Thus, her desire remained unfulfilled and she failed in her aim.

The poet conjectures that when the aunt would die she would be buried with the wedding ring still on her finger. This suggests that she would not be able to fulfil her dreams and that even when dead she would be subjected to the life and ritual she so hated.

She was oppressed by her husband. So she decided to design tigers because her wish was to live freely and fearlessly like them. The tigers reflected her innermost desire of being strong and free. Even after her death, this desire would remain alive through the tigers.

What lies heavily on Aunt Jennifer's hand? ›

Expert-verified answer

The thing that lies heavily on Aunt Jennifer's hand is her wedding band. Aunt Jennifer lies with her wedding ring in her hand. The poet mentions that it lies heavily on her hand because her marriage had been a burden throughout her life.

The ivory needle in the poem is significant because it symbolizes the contrast between Aunt Jennifer's artistic expression and her oppressive reality. The ivory needle is a valuable and rare object that comes from an animal that is powerful and free, like the tigers she embroiders.

Explanation: The figure of speech used in the line is alliteration as the sound of 's' has been repeated. It refers to the present situation of the poet which has left her speechless.

Personification: It imbues inanimate or abstract objects with human traits. "The frost has wrought a silence." Frost is personified as a living thing.

By this line the poet means that even when aunt is dead, she will still be imprisoned by her wedding ring- symbolic of her marriage full of ordeals that took complete control of her.

Explanation: Even after her death, the tigers made by her will continue to prance across the screen and will live on. The tigers will not die and go to the grave with a band resting upon their fingers which would remind them of the duties.

'Ordeals' stands for bitter and unpleasant experiences of her married life. The poet uses the word 'ringed' which suggests that Aunt Jennifer is still surrounded by the bitter experiences of her past life. The another meaning of the word 'ringed' is encircled. ...

Answer: Aunt Jennifer's ordeals are the ordeals of keeping her husband happy. She can do nothing against the wishes of her husband. The word 'ringed' conveys the idea that Aunt Jennifer can never get out of her slavish routine.

Explanation: Aunt Jennifer, a character from Adrienne Rich's poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," faces the ordeals in her life with resilience and determination, despite the challenges she encounters. The poem depicts Aunt Jennifer as a woman who is constrained by societal expectations and the patriarchal norms of her time.