The Lady Or The Tiger Theme Essay

Frank Stockton’s “The Lady or The Tiger” presents a powerful message about the conflict between compassion and jealousy. While this series of events seems to revolve around the character of the princess, the complex qualities of the young man and his influence on the story come to light upon closer investigation.The decision of the young man in ‘The Lady and the Tiger’ to open the door indicated by the princess indicates not submissiveness or simplicity of character, but rather his depth as a complex character with as much a role in determining his own fate as the princess.

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.

Once he had caught the subtle gesture of the princess, it was defined for the lover which path in his life’s forked road he would follow. The truth of the princess or her betrayal, the lady or the tiger, life or death?

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

n the short story “Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank R. Stockton , the author suggests that a temperamental princess was overpowered by her jealousy of another woman which consequently provoked her to lead her lover to his doom. To begin, the author describes the princess as “hot-blooded” and “semi-barbaric” in the line “Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy”(241). This passage illustrates that the princess lets her emotions control her, including “despair” and “jealousy”. As a result, she loses sight of true love and sends her lover to the door behind which hides a man-eating

In the story, “The Lady or the Tiger”, by Frank Stockton, a princess is forced to determine the fate of her soulmate by sending him to death by ravenous tiger, rather than letting him be wed to another. In this relentless battle between love and jealousy, the author says, ¨…and, with all of the intensity of the savage blood passed down to her through her long lines of completely barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.¨ This quote clearly conveys the king’s daughter of having an extreme antipathy for the woman. This is why she would not choose her. The passage also talks about the nights leading up to the trial; ¨But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her nightmarish

In one case, the guy she loves would be married to a girl that she despises, which leads the princess to deciding that the tiger should be the fate of her love. The tiger embodies all of the jealousy that is inside of the princess because she cannot handle seeing what she wants if she cannot have it. The story explains, “Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of semi-barbaric futurity?” (Stockton). The princess is no longer considering the weight that her decision has on the lover, but the effect the outcome has on herself. This adds to her previously described attribute of being “semi-barbaric”, and shows how certain situations can force certain actions out of people. For example, before the King ever found out about her lover, the thought of mauling him with a tiger wouldn’t have passed her mind. Since the situation did come about, and the lover had to be punished, she chose to punish him along with herself, rather than just herself. She decided to think for herself, which is not uncommon among

He went to the right door, and opened it. The youth trusted his lover with a whole heart. He knew the fate she choose for him well never be barbaric. The youth fixed his hand on the handle of the door with hesitation. He raced his eyes all over the crowd to see the princess one more time, before he dissolve into the darkness of the choice she made for him. The princess hesitated to gaze at the lover. Her hesitation made his eyes glassy. With glassy eyes he dissolved into the darkness. She joined her hands together in an attempt to bargain with God that this moment never happened. The princess believed that she took the right choice.

Fiction Analysis Rough Draft- The Lady or the Tiger” by Frank Stockton creates a curious dilemma in the princess’s choice to ultimately save her lover’s life or sate her jealousy. We see various examples of how deeply the princess and her lover care for each other, but we are left to decide if jealously and primitive instincts will overcome love between soul mates. The validity in the concept of justice is tested in the story of “The Lady or the Tiger?”, when the deciding factor in the lover’s fate is affected by intense emotion, both love and resentment. This story demonstrates two very different methods to approaching a “rock and a hard place” type decision.

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.

Imagine you committed a crime, usually they would have a court case and send you to prison or jail right? Well in this story the “The lady or the Tiger” you was to choose your way out of the kings arena, this might sound good to you ,but the people not so much. They had a choice of a lady that they had to get instantly married to on the spot, or a tiger, the cruelest and fiercest, to be eaten by. Even if you already had a wife and kids it wouldn’t have mattered you would still have to marry the lady if you choose her door. Which brings up the man that feel in love with the king’s daughter. He had told the king his love for her, which made him angry because no one has ever expressed their love for the king’s daughter.