Themes in The Lady, or the Tiger?

Here, the narrator turns the readers into the princess. Like the princess, the readers have all the necessary information to make an decision about the fate of the lover. By leaving the story open-ended, he forces the reader to confront their own biases regarding how they would act and what choice they would make in the princess’s situation.

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 lover and the lady have been seen together, sending rumors flying and the princess spiraling into an abyss of rage and jealousy. This jealousy is perhaps the most important factor of the plot, as it decides the fate of the lover at the end. Stockton could also be making a subtle argument about the power of literature and language. Even the most whimsical and unimportant of topics can hold great influence. Indeed, this is the stance a humorist, someone whose career is built on using whimsy to influence others , would take.

To the prisoner, the doors appear to be exactly the same. He has no knowledge of what lies on the other side of either one. The only one with this knowledge is the princess, making her influence on her lover’s decision the only truly biased action at this stage of the story. She knows that she will lose her lover no matter the door he picks, so she must study the consequences of her decision. This examination of consequence is a luxury—and burden—afforded to no other person in the arena.

In this story, the force of “fate” could belong to either the princess or the readers. In the narrative, fate is revealed to be guided by the princess, as she has the ability to make a choice based on her knowledge of the doors and their consequences. Stockton removes himself from the equation by ending the story before the reveal of what’s behind the chosen door. He instead gives the choice to the readers, simultaneously leaving them in a state of uncertainty and forcing them to choose.

This is where Stockton begins to hint at the story’s twist ending, or lack thereof. The “thinking part of the community” may serve as a implicit nod to his readership. Despite the apparent fairness of the system, the entire story is about displacing the final decision onto somebody else. In fact, the displacement of choice goes beyond the limits of the story itself, as the “whole matter” is in the hands and minds of the audience, not any of the characters.

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.