Character Analysis in The Lady, or the Tiger?

In any other trial, the prisoner must make a choice and live with the consequences, despite having no way of weighing the options beforehand. The princess adds depth to this decision by the fact of her knowledge. She has the power to examine the options closely, meaning that she’s the only one who must live with the consequences.

The princess recognizes the fact that she and her lover are forever separated. Instead of being upset by this and taking time to mourn her loss, she begins to weigh her options. The princess seems unable to decide the proper fate: sending him to his death or sending him to his bride.

The princess will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, even if that means betraying her father, the king. This poses the central question of the story: Which fate does she want for her lover? Here, Stockton characterizes the princess as cutthroat and enigmatic.

The “savage blood” of her ancestors refers to the princess’s intense emotions regarding the titular lady behind the door. This emotion turns her blind with rage, making her motivations and actions unpredictable. This unpredictability is underscored at the end of the story by Stockton’s irresolute ending.

This passage calls the princess’s motivations into question. One would assume that she is there to support her lover. But it could also refer to her responsibility in the decision making process. As the only audience member who knows the content of each door, she has more of a “terrible interest” than anyone.

The king has created a fool-proof plan for himself. No matter what happens, the lover will not be marrying the princess. If he picks the tiger, the lover dies and the king gets a glorious show of violence and death. However, if the lover picks the lady, the king gets to watch as his daughter’s dalliance is ended by the marriage. Presumably, his barbarian side would prefer the bloodier option, but either will do.

The introduction of the lover is where the story begins to take on a fantastical tone. The archetypal characters were always implicit, hidden beneath a thinly veiled historical realism, but now the Evil King, the Jealous Princess, and the Prince Charming really come into the spotlight in their recognizable forms.

Because the king designed the entire system to rely on the choice of the man on trial, the eventual involvement of the princess complicates matters. Despite the king’s vengefulness and his oversimplification of justice, he is still a fair ruler. By leaving the verdict up to chance, there is no implicit bias. However, as soon as the princess discovers which door holds which fate, the system becomes biased and unfair.

The king created the arena for two purposes. The first purpose is to simplify the justice system. The arena and its doors make criminal trials simple: the man on trial chooses his own punishment, however blind the choice. The second purpose is to allow the king to connect with his barbarian half, which desires entertainment.

Although not a human character in the story, the arena plays just as crucial a role. A creation of the king’s modeled after the Roman Colosseum, the arena is used to judge the criminals of the kingdom. In the center of the arena there are two doors. Behind one, a ferocious tiger waits to maul the man on trial. Behind the other, a suitable bride sits. If the criminal opens the door with the bride, he will immediately be married to her The arena serves as a physical representation of the theme of consequence and choice. No matter the decision, there are grave and irreversible consequences. It also embodies the king’s simplification of justice, for underlying each punishment is random chance.

The duality of the king is reflective of the duality of the punishments at the arena. There is the barbaric and violent fate: death at the hands, or paws, of the tiger. However, there is also the more civilized fate: marriage to a suitable bride. This struggle between the refined and the cruel is a constant in the kingdom and a common theme of the story.