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The Lady Or The Tiger?

Decent Essays

"The Lady, or the Tiger?" is a short story by Frank R. Stockton that takes place in a land ruled by a semi-barbaric king who rules sternly, and has a creative punishment for criminals that were brought to his attention. They are led to an arena where there are two doors; the accused must choose one. Behind one door, there is a tiger, who will maul the accused to death. Behind the other door, there is a fair maiden, chosen by the king himself. If the criminal selects this door, then the pair will be instantly married. The story kicks in when the king's (almost as barbaric) daughter is caught having an affair with one of the king's courtiers. As expected, the courtier is sent to the arena, but the princess has found out which door will contain which punishment. However, the fair maiden behind one of the doors is someone the princess hates. The princess gestures towards the right door and the story ends on a cliff hanger. Despite the ending, it can be inferred that the princess sent the courtier to the tiger. …show more content…

One reason is the fact that the princess is described as "moiety of barbarism in her nature" and that she hated the fair maiden "with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors". A lot of barbaric minded people have a "if I cant have this no one can" mindset, so that could affect the outcome of the situation. In addition, it is made aware that she, despite being less barbaric, is barbaric nonetheless. She could have hated the fair maiden more than she loved her suitor and had the man killed just to get to

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