Love, Class, and Choice in 'The Lady or the Tiger'

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In the short story “The Lady or the Tiger” written by Frank R. Stockton, there's a different way of proving someone guilty or innocent in a trial than most readers are used to. The tribunal would take place in a public arena and the king alongside of his daughter would watch as the accused subject chose their fate. There were two doors in the amphitheater and the subject would have to open a door to determine if they were guilty or innocent. However, one door had a beastly tiger waiting to eat the subject and behind the other door was a fair young lady ready to get married to the subject on the spot. The daughter of the king had been having a secret affair with a young man who was below their class rank and the king was furious when he had found out about their forbidden love. The young man was put in prison and had been waiting for his trial date. When the day came and the man had to choose between the right and the left door, the princess signaled him to open the door to the right. She had known what was behind each door. The princess sent her lover to the door that awaited a tiger. The princess and the man were in love and had been together for many months. “Not only did she know in which room stood the lady, ready to emerge, all blushing and …show more content…

She hated the idea of the love of her life being torn and eaten by a beast but hated the idea of her man loving someone else even more. She had made the selfish decision but when the young man opened the door, he couldn’t reverse the final verdict. The woman behind one of the two doors had talked to the princess’ lover before and the princess did not like that at all. She was very protective of her lover and did not even want a woman laying eyes on him, so the reader must imagine how she felt when she thought about the two being in a life long relationship. The princess led her lover to his death when she signaled him to open the right

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