What does this poem mean? Like what is the translation or deeper meaning?

Question

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich
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.

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.

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 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

It's a feminist poem. Aunt Jennifer's marriage to Uncle has left her basically enslaved (which is why the wedding band is so heavy) and looking for escape the only way she can - through her artwork.

In the first stanza she is creating a needlepoint or cross stitch on a green piece of cloth of exotic, free animals who have no fear of men. Quite unlike Aunt Jennifer herself.

The second stanza tells of her discomfort. It could be that arthritis makes it hard to pull the needle through the cloth, but it is also the weight of the Uncle's wedding band ... the burden marriage places on a woman ... that seems to be the problem. Note that sewing/embroidery is seen by many as "women's work." Yet another sign that she is in a male-dominated society/household.

The third stanza looks towards when Aunt Jennifer will be dead and it is only the artwork she leaves behind that will live on. Those tigers will still be prancing around freely after she's gone. They won't have been beaten down by life's difficulties/inequalities.