How would you describe the relationship between Aunt Jennifer and the tigers in "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"?

Aunt Jennifer is the creator of a set of needlepoint tigers. And it's perfectly clear from the start that she's immensely proud of them. They're almost like surrogate children to her, a sad fact that reveals the emptiness that lies at the heart of her troubled marriage.
She imbues them with the characteristics and personal qualities that she herself patently lacks, such as strength and fearlessness. It is just these qualities that Aunt Jennifer admires so much about her tigers, qualities that she will never be able to develop within the restrictive confines of a traditional marriage in which she's expected to be demure and subservient. If only she, too, could fear no man.
Aunt Jennifer greatly admires her tigers. She knows that, long after she's departed from this world, they will never change. They'll still be there, prancing around, proud and unafraid.