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Middle East

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Group 3
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The Lady or
the Tiger
By: Frank Stockton
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A semi-barbaric ruler, who rules calmly and wisely for certain things, but
relishes public trials of chance to administer justice for things he cares
about, primarily for his own pleasure. He enjoys administering justice by
chance, in which the person on trial must blindly choose their fate,
whether to die or live with a determined outcome.

‫تسويق‬ The King

 The Princess
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The King's daughter falls in love with a young man, who, once her father
learns of their affair, subjects him to a perilous fate in which he must
choose one of two doors. Behind one holds a tiger, who will eat him; the
other hides a young maiden whom he must marry. The Princess, who is
semi-barbaric as is her father, knows which door hides each creature, and
signals the young man to pick the door on the right. Will she show her
barbaric side (being impetuous and jealous), or her humane side (allow her
lover to live, but be with another). The reader is left to guess her decision.

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 The Courtier
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The handsome and brave courtier loves the Princess,
but when his intentions are discovered by the King, he
is subject to the worst punishment of all, a public
demonstration of his fate in which he faces either
certain death or is forced to marry a maiden, rather
than his beloved Princess.

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 Setting

The story is set in an imaginary time and place, in a

kingdom whose king is “semi-barbaric.”
Since there is no specific description from the author,
the kingdom setting could be anywhere and nowhere,
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it is up to readers to make of this what they will.

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 Public Arena (King’s arena) – It has tiers upon tiers, galleries, and doors at and below ground level,
with curtains around them so that no hint of what is behind them is revealed. If the tiger eats the
prisoner, mourners await, and if the lady marries the prisoner, priests are ready to perform the
marriage ceremony. The setting bears many similarities to the Coliseum in Rome, which was the scene
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of elaborate and bloody gladiatorial games for centuries

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 Plot
Genre: Fairy tale
At the beginning of the story, it seems like a fairy tale. In order to highlight their timeless
messages, fairy tales usually take place in an indeterminate time and place. Such is the case
with “The Lady, or the Tiger?”. But unlike the other traditional fairytales, “The lady or the
tiger?” doesn’t have a “happy ever after”.

Sub-genre: Allegory
The lady or the tiger is about the concept of justice. It’s a short story that can be interpreted
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with a hidden meaning, typically a moral and political one.

Mode of punishment is trial by ordeal – One of the earliest forms of punishment where the
crime was punished, or innocence was decided, by the result of chance.
The story begins with a description of a “semi-barbaric” king who rules his kingdom with a heavy
hand. For punishing criminals, he has built an arena featuring two doors. The criminal must choose
his own fate by selecting one of the two closed doors. Behind one door is a hungry tiger that will eat
the prisoner alive. Behind the other door is a beautiful lady, hand-picked by the king, who will be
married to the accused on the spot. The people of the kingdom like this system of justice, because
the uncertainty of the situation is very entertaining.
 Complication ‫تسويق‬
The king has a beautiful daughter whom he adores. She secretly loves a
young man who is a commoner, the slave of the king. He’s handsome and
brave but his father obviously did not approve of him. When the king
discovers her illicit affair, he throws the young man in jail to await his
judgment. For a commoner to love the king’s daughter is a crime, so the king
searches for the most ferocious tiger and the most attractive lady (but not
the princess, of course) for the young man’s trial in the arena. It didn’t matter
that the courtier was guilty because he admitted that he loved the princess.
The king didn’t let this fact stand in his way, he enjoyed the justice of his

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arena too much.
 Climax

The day of the courtier’s “trial” comes, and the young man walks into the arena, his
eyes fixed on the princess. He looks to her for guidance, because he suspects that she
has learned which door conceals the lady, and which the tiger. Indeed, the princess had
done the impossible. She had learned the secret of the doors; gold and her power as
the king’s daughter had bought her the secret. The princess signals for him to choose

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the right-hand door. Without hesitation, he moves to open the right-hand door.

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Consequence
But while it is not surprising that the earnest young man trusts the
princess, it is surprising that the princess does not trust him equally,
whatever her jealous feelings are for the lady behind the door.
Of course, the rational and humane choice would be to point her lover
towards the door that hid the lady but her perceptions of the other
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young lady, and of his possible interest in her, complicate her entire
decision-making process.
 Denouement
Stockton does not reveal what waits behind that door; he leaves readers to come
to their own answer. But he revealed some details about the princess that helps
determine her decision. She’s also described as a wild, savage, and semi-barbaric
princess capable of making a decision coming from her soul that is burning with
jealousy and hatred. She had lost her lover should another woman have him?

The princess is also trembled by her vivid imagination as the tiger leaped with
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terrible fangs and its claws ripping wildly. Could the princess actually stand the
idea of the courtier whom she dearly loved being ripped into pieces?

She points at the right door in an instant and without hesitation but she taught
about her decision for many days. So, which came out? The lady or the tiger? ‫تسويق‬
 Theme
Trust versus Betrayal - Though the Princess seems to be deeply in love with the young man,
and he trusts her with his life, she is faced with two opposing emotions: jealousy and hatred
for the young maiden if her lover survives, or mortal anguish should he be devoured by a
Tiger. We learn she has deliberated long and hard over both outcomes. The reader is given
more clues that she's leaning towards the Tiger-door option (her barbaric half).

Choices and Consequences - The “semi-barbaric” king has set up the arena in such a way
that the prisoner’s choice will determine his fate, regardless of his guilt or innocence. Either
he will be eaten by a hungry tiger or he will instantly marry a beautiful girl. This element of
choice absolves the king from any responsibility in the situation and intrigues the audience,
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who eagerly anticipate the prisoner’s fate. Not knowing whether they will witness a bloody
spectacle or a wedding

Barbarism versus Progressiveness - Stockton emphatically described the King as "semi-

barbaric" in his self-serving desires and "exuberant fancy" for public spectacles of cruelty
(barbarism). Yet he has a "civilized" side in his commitment to administer justice in an
impartial and incorruptible manner by chance, and "develop the mental energies of the
people."
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Point of View

The story is told through an omniscient third-person narrator because the

narrator is aware of the thoughts and actions of all the characters.
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End of presentation
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