Decisions In 'The Lady Or The Tiger'

The princess began to weep, for her lover was to die or to marry a woman she despised. She flew up and out of her seat, and she ran as fast as her feet could take her; she could not bear to see her lover’s fate. She knew the fair maiden was behind the door he was to open, and she wanted so badly to be standing in her place. She must find a way to meet him as he opened the door.

This time the subject that was being accused was his lover. The young boy had two doors to choose from, behind one awaited a young beautiful maiden that he would be set to marry if that were to be his fate, however behind another door was a hungry tiger that he would suffer at the claws of if he were to pick it. The king had arranged this entire sick and twisted affair, a quote from the short story states that “It mattered not that he already possesses a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon another object of his own selection; the king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward”. The princess knew this which in turn unsettled her for she loved him with an ardor that had enough barbarism to make to extremely warm and strong. The fact that her personality was depicted as being semi barbaric and that her love for him had barbarism in it is a hint that the princess would subject her lover to death than see him with another woman.

. . burned in agony” (150) as her love runs to his reward of innocence, she chooses the door in which the tiger will appear, only because this jealous princess would not want her lover to be happy with another woman and have him kept to herself, dead or alive.

At the end of the story, “The Lady or the Tiger,” the man had a choice to pick which door. The main question is which door did he pick? The one with the tiger that would lead to certain death or the door that had the lady behind it in which he would have gotten married to. I believe the princess lead him to opened the one with the tiger. Even though she would have had to watch her lover die a painful death I don’t think she could have bared to watch him be with another. One other reason it leads me to believe she picked that one is because she was semi-barbaric, like her father. It even said in the story that she enjoyed watching them as much as he did. The princess knew the game and knew that if she picked the one with the lady behind it they would be happily married.

The criminal, the princess’ ex-lover, saw a guard come close to his cell, and unlock it, the key clicked in place. Rough hands grabbed him, it was time for the final judgement, the arena; would he live, or die? As he stumbled out onto the sandy stadium, the crowd cheered, but he only looked up, to the princess. Ultimately, the real loss was of the princess, who had either a dead soul mate, or one with another woman. In “The Lady, Or the Tiger?”, Stockton’s choice of point of view brings to mind the telling of an ancient tale rather than a formal narrative, encourages the reader to keep thinking even after the original narration has ended, as does his choice in framing the exposition and the plot structure.

To make a grand dénouement, the princess although barbaric, allowed the young lover to live and prosper with a new wife. Sometimes love takes us down unusual paths but we will always find the right path back

…Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it. Before the gate had even reached a foot off the ground the young lover, heartbroken, watched four frantic feet pacing back and forth and heard a deep, rhythmic panting. His mind frenziedly raced with dozens of thoughts: How could you do this to me? My dear lover, do you care but only for yourself? Someone must have forced her to tell me to choose the right door! What sort of fool am I to fall in love with the fairest lady in the kingdom?! What am I to do now? Run… The tiger steadily stepped out of his dark cage, allowing the afternoon sun to warm his striped fur. He gazed first at the masses seated breathlessly around the stadium

one of my reasons why I think the lady choose the tiger is because even though she loves this man she can't seem to see him with another women, That would just be to much for her in my point of view and I don't think he could even love another woman when he's love of his life is the kings daughter

His morality could not have disturbed the sweetness of thought as he fantasized of the princess now. She lingered, planted too deep inside of him for the governance of a rational mind to ever again exist. He was unaware of his blinding to the devil, oblivious to the weakness of his soul. But what was a lion to a lamb after all? And Satan could only resist the weakness of a man so much.

In “The Lady or the Tiger,” by Frank Stockton, the princess dooms her lover to a painful and cruel death by telling him to open the door with a savage tiger behind it. First of all, she decides to kill her lover because she hated the women waiting at the other exit. The text states that not only has she discovered which door led to what, “... she knew who the lady was. It was was one of the fairest and loveliest ladies of the court… Often had she seen, or imagined she had seen, this fair lady glance admiringly upon her lover, and sometimes she thought these glances were noticed, and even returned, by him.” The author clearly expresses that she is jealous of the lady, infuriated by how she fondly gazes upon her lover, which is further fueled by how he seems to return her stare.

This tale shows the consequences of a childish dependence clung to for a long time. The princess trusts her mother who then sends her off to get married. Because she was protected as a child she did not develop autonomy. She was very dependent on her parents. Her dependence is then shifted to her maid who robs her of her title. The princess fears the maid and goes along with

One of the main characters in “The Lady or The Tiger” by Frank Stockhorn, was the semi-barbaric princess. From beginning, the unnamed princess had ambiguity written all over her, and it was generously displayed near the end of the story. The end started with the young man asking the princess in a secretive manner about who was behind each door, either the lady who he would get married too, or the tiger, by which who would eat him, including which door he should choose. The princess points to the right and the prince believes his lover without hesitation. He opens the right and the story is cut off there , leaving the reader with the question, who was behind the door? At that moment, we learn about the princess’s dilemma ; “She had lost him,

Once she makes her declaration, a bird-like figure enters her window it transforms into her would-be lover; the handsome knight of the ‘other-world’. This knight declares his love for the Lady and says that he has loved her from afar for a long time, but now that she has called for him he can be her beloved. He is the most attractive man she had ever beheld; they begin their relationship, but he warns the Lady that although he will come whenever she calls, but that she must not call too often, or they will be caught. Their relationship continues, and the Lady does not listen to the knights warning. The husband grows suspicious and sets his sister (the guardian of his wife) to spy on the Lady; the sister witnesses the transformation of the knight

In Addition, to the claim that the princess chose the tiger’s door is supported by the fact that she hated the young damsel because she knew that she had admiration toward her lover. Stockton say to the readers, “The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess: and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind the silent door”(3). The princess knew the young damsel, she was young and beautiful as well as the young man. She hated the fact that the damsel dared to show her admiration towards her lover. The princess wanted the young man to be with her and nobody else. She hated the woman and would not give her the benefit of getting married with her lover.

His fervent and imperious ways were in instilled in her since birth. Knowing the princess’s nature, the king did not just “happen” to find out about their affair it was planned. The fact was obvious, her choice in men was not one of which her father would approve. The discovery was a perfect way to ride her of the youth. She had no future.