Stanza-wise Explanation

The first stanza paints a vivid picture of Aunt Jennifer's tigers, which are not real animals but figures embroidered on a screen. They are described as bright topaz in colour, moving with a proud, sleek, and fearless grace that contrasts sharply with the life of the woman who created them. These tigers exist in a world of perfect freedom, unafraid of any men or hunters beneath the tree.

The second stanza pulls us into Aunt Jennifer's present reality. Her fingers, we are told, are "fluttering" and tired from her work, and she struggles even to pull the ivory needle through the cloth. The central image here is the heavy wedding ring that sits on her hand -- a symbol of the weight of her marriage and the patriarchal constraints that have dominated her life. The ring is not a piece of jewellery but a burden, described as "massive" and sitting heavily, as if it has mastered her. …