Tiger and the Lady Essay

The Tiger or the Lady? In the story, “The Tiger or the Lady” by Frank Stockton”, a young handsome man, whom the princess was in loved with, was accused of committing the horrible crime of loving the beautiful, barbaric princess. Therefore, he was sent to the King’s Arena, where he shall be put to death. The “semi- barbaric king” (1) found that this joy of human torture was most genial, bringing great pleasure to his hateful heart and empty soul. Now in this court justice system, if the accused were placed in the arena, his fate was decided by to wooden doors. Behind one door was a vicious, lethal tiger, and behind the other was a beautiful maiden. If a person were to choose the door holding the tiger, they would be immediately eaten and considered guilty (1); but if the suspect were to open the door containing the woman the accused person would then be considered innocent, (2) and the two would then marry, having a celebration in his honor. His loving princess has directed him open the door on the right, but the question is which door is it? I believe that because of the princess’s barbaric moiety, jealousy, and hatred that she has pointed to the door with the vicious man- eating tiger with her boyfriend dying a horrible painful death.
To begin with, I think the princess chose the door with the tiger because she is barbaric. She would probably “want” to see her boyfriend die a rather painful, agonizing death over losing him to another. Secondly, the princess does seem to have “a soul as fervent and imperious as her father’s” (3). I honestly think that she has a heart as devious as her father’s, with that mysterious barbaric urge to see people perish.
Furthermore, the princess was the jealous type, so she would choose the door with the tiger for her lover’s fate. This barbaric princess was jealous at the thought of her man being with another woman; for it was the. . . “Hot- blooded, semi- barbaric moiety that made her soul at white heat beneath all her