The Lady or the Tiger by Frank R. Stockton

“The Lady or the Tiger” analysis and discussion.

Characters. The king is semi-barbaric. The young man is handsome. They are both stereotypes. The princess is developed more deeply. We know she loves the prince. We know she has inherited some of her father’s semi-barbaric qualities. We know she is jealous of the bride to be, if chosen. We do not, however, know which door she has chosen for her lover. The story ends at the climax. There is no resolution.

Conflict. A person v. person conflict exists between the king and his daughter and the king and the young man. An individual v. society conflict exists between the two lovers and the rules of the kingdom. The central conflict in the story is an internal conflict within the princess as she struggles between watching her lover in the arms of another or watching her lover get devoured by a tiger. If the man chooses the tiger, I suppose you could classify it as man vs. nature, but we don’t know what’s behind that door. And we’re not really sure the arena could be classified as nature.

Theme. Stockton’s short story comments on the confusing nature of love and the subjective notion of civilization and barbarity. There is also an element of Determinism vs. Free Will and whether or not, if left to their own desires, humans make the right decision.

Suspense. Suspense is created through the use of foreshadowing, dangerous action, and pacing. Stockton foreshadows the coming unhappiness of the princess (although he doesn’t provide a definitive answer to the specific choice that causes that unhappiness). The dangerous action is provided by the tiger. The ultimate creation of suspense is done by the story’s pacing. It is so well done, in fact, I still don’t know what the young man chooses.

Irony. The ironic structure of the story–it has no end, for example–highlights the irony present in the story: (1) the princess and not the criminal is the story’s true loser; (2) the king, despite the outward appearance of sophistication is, at heart, a cruel semi-barbarian; (3) the princess deliberates for days on whether or not to save her lover

Point of View. Do not confuse the author with the narrator. The narrator is third person omniscient and knows the fate of the young man. The author does not.