The Lady Or The Tiger? by Frank Stockton Literary Analysis Essay Sample

The forbidden romance, the ruthless king, and the two choices. In the story “The Lady or The Tiger” written by Frank Stocken, a king who runs by unfair acts finds out about the love of his daughter and a commoner. He wasn’t pleased with the idea of a commoner being with the princess. He is known for doing public trials with two huge doors in front of the prisoner. If the prisoner chooses the right door, they would be gifted with a lady and a hand in marriage. If they chose the wrong door, they would be brutally killed by a tiger. The various internal and external conflicts throughout the story affect the story and the actions of the characters.

The forbidden romance. In the text it states, “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.”. The princess despises this situation. The innocent man she loves is on trial, and if he were to open the right door, he would live life long with another woman. The princess knew the woman was very elegant and could not fall into the hands of her man. That is why her hatred for her is so strong. The decisions gaven has are tearing apart because as much as she wants the best for the prince, she also wants him to only be hers. Due to the occurring trial, the man could end up somewhere, with someone. The princess’s  love for him must only be for her. She would rather him die than be with another woman. Therefore, if the man were to be with the other lady, the princess's hatred and frustration would build up. This is important to the story because the princess has deep feelings for the commoner that could only be hers. Internally, the princess' hatred would grow due to the occurring relationship. To add on, the marriage with cheers and flowers will happen right in front of the princess. It would make the princess miserable seeing the love of her life marry someone else before her eyes. 

The ruthless king. The text says, “The man was immediately put in prison. A day was set for his trial in the king's public arena. 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 was enraged when he found out about his daughter’s  relationship with the commoner. This caused the king to become furious because no one in the whole kingdom had ever dared to love people from different social classes. The text states, “If the accused man opened one door, out came a hungry tiger, the fiercest in the land. The tiger immediately jumped on him and tore him to pieces as punishment for his guilt. The case of the suspect was thus decided.”. From these pieces of evidence, the reader is easily able to understand the character of the king. The king is a man that lives by his own rules, whether they make sense and are in the interest of the people or not. Since the young commoner is putting his life and trust into the hands of the princess, it all depends on her decision. The young commoner could be externally affected with death and severe suffocation. This is important to the story because he has so much trust in the princess, and that trust could be broken. The young commoner would be going through a man versus man conflict, knowing that he has to trust the princess and her capability to tell the truth.

To sum it up, the short story  “The Lady and The Tiger”, has had various conflicts that affect the overall story. The story follows a princess that has a hard time deciding the right path for her beloved.The princess has gone through dramatic decisions about her future life, and the young commoner has had decisions to make between life and death and the princess honesty. All in all, this story was about forbidden romance, the ruthless king, and the two significant choices. This story taught readers about how different emotions can take over one’s minds.