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'The Lady, or the Tiger?' by Frank R. Stockton

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The Lady or the Tiger? by Frank R. Stockton

The Lady, or the Tiger?

Of course, it is totally unjust: Why should the innocent have the same odds as someone guilty of meeting with a horrible fate? Justice, Impartiality, and Bias. Notice that the respective aftermaths of the accused meeting with either the lady or the tiger are parallel: This emphasizes the ritualistic and theatrical quality of trial by arena, as do the hired mourners.

Get the entire The Lady or the Tiger? LitChart as a printable PDF. This made the institution of the public arena very popular, both entertaining and pleasing. The spectacle outweighs the humanity. Now, the king had a daughter, the princess , as fanciful and passionate as her father. The young man was imprisoned for daring to love the princess; his trial was to be held in the public arena.

Everyone, from the king to his subjects, was especially interested in this case, because none like it had ever occurred before. Although the barbaric element of passion in human nature gives rise to absurdities like the public arena, it also makes our love all the more strong, the story suggests—so perhaps passion is not in and of itself bad. Indeed, it is only when we have license to act however we want to under the influence of passion, as the king does, that problems arise.

The king and his subjects anticipate this unusual trial because it is all the more dramatic, being unusual. The competent judges of the lady for the arena are ironically superfluous: Aesthetic pleasure is a pleasure taken in the perception of beauty—the king witnesses trials as one would contemplate a work of art. The day of the trial arrived.

A huge audience gathered to watch. The young man was released into the public arena , to the admiration and anxiety of the audience—they thought him a grand youth, and thought it terrible for him to be in the arena. The young man, as was customary, bowed to the king , but was looking all the while at the princess.

Even though the audience recognizes how grand the youth is, they are so committed to the entertainment value of his trial that they do not rise to his defense. While the king has an aesthetic interest in the trial, the princess has a different kind of interest: The man was immediately put in prison. This, of course, was an especially important event.

Never before had a common subject been brave enough to love the daughter of the king. The king knew that the young man would be punished, even if he opened the right door. And the king would take pleasure in watching the series of events, which would judge whether or not the man had done wrong in loving the princess.

The day of the trial arrived. From far and near the people gathered in the arena and outside its walls. The king and his advisers were in their places, opposite the two doors. The sign was given. The door under the king opened and the lover of the princess entered the arena. Tall, beautiful and fair, his appearance was met with a sound of approval and tension. Half the people had not known so perfect a young man lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a terrible thing for him to be there!

As the young man entered the public arena, he turned to bend to the king. But he did not at all think of the great ruler. From the day it was decided that the sentence of her lover should be decided in the arena, she had thought of nothing but this event. The princess had more power, influence and force of character than anyone who had ever before been interested in such a case. She had done what no other person had done.

The Lady or the Tiger? by Frank R. Stockton

She had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew behind which door stood the tiger, and behind which waited the lady. She also knew who the lady was. The lady was one of the loveliest in the kingdom. Now and then the princess had seen her looking at and talking to the young man. The princess hated the woman behind that silent door. She hated her with all the intensity of the blood passed to her through long lines of cruel ancestors.

Her lover turned to look at the princess. His eye met hers as she sat there, paler and whiter than anyone in the large ocean of tense faces around her. He saw that she knew behind which door waited the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected her to know it.

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Now, this is frustrating! I like and also dislike this idea of we bringing our judgement for the story. Having recently discovered the 19th C writer, Frank Stockton, i've been digging up what i can - and this is his most famous work, a riddle. The structure serves as the focal point of the story and is designed and built specifically for the king's barbaric form of justice. The Short Stories of Jack All Symbols The Public Arena. Or I doubt I ever would.

The only hope for the young man was based on the success of the princess in discovering this mystery. When he looked at her, he saw that she had been successful, as he knew she would succeed. Then his quick and tense look asked the question: There was not time to be lost. The princess raised her hand, and made a short, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw it.

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Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena. He turned, and with a firm and quick step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating. Every breath was held. Every eye was fixed upon that man. Add to Add to Add to. Want to watch this again later? The setting in this story by Frank Stockton contributes significant aspects of time, place and location to this quirky little tale.

In this lesson, we'll take a look at them all. There are only a few problems. Setting When we're talking about the setting of a story, we're looking at not only a physical location such as a house or church, but also things like time period, geographic region, and sometimes even the weather.

Time We don't get any specifics here, except to learn that the story is set in ''very olden times. Physical Location The most important detail of the setting in this story is the public arena that is the location of the ''king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Try it risk-free No obligation, cancel anytime. Want to learn more? Select a subject to preview related courses: Register to view this lesson Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student I am a teacher. Unlock Your Education See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.

Become a Member Already a member? What teachers are saying about Study. Earning College Credit Did you know… We have over college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1, colleges and universities. To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page Transferring credit to the school of your choice Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Browse Articles By Category Browse an area of study or degree level. You are viewing lesson Lesson 1 in chapter 2 of the course:.

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