The Lady or the Tiger is a story about a "barbaric king" that realizes his daughters', the princess, is having an affair with a male suitor. He is arrested and then is forced to go to trial where there are two doors. Door one is an empty tiger, and in door two is a beautiful women waiting to give him a happy ending. The sad part is that the princess, the girl that criminal loves and she as well, knows what is behind the two doors. She then is puzzled to make the right decision and give her lover the opportunity that he deserves. The princess despises the lady and would like for the male suitor, her lover, to have a "semi barbaric futurity" death, yet she wouldn't want to see him get hurt. Since the author decided to not give an ending and leave the decision of the princess in the reader's hands, we could ask ourselves did she choose the lady or the tiger. .
Often times we are left to decide if we should listen to that small inner voice yelling at us to do the right thing, and yet sometimes it is natural to ignore and do the opposite. The princess does this ignores what is right and throws her lover to the eager tiger. Put yourself in her position young love she probably figures if I cannot have him now neither will the lady, and feeds him to the tiger thinking maybe he will wait for me and we will see each other in heaven. "Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of semi barbaric futurity?"(para.24). The princess does not feel remorseful with her decision because in her religious belief by "faith" they will be reunited in heaven. This way the princess is able to live with herself given the reason why her lover won't suffer.
The princess despises the lady that's why she ends up feeding her lover to the tiger. There is no way she was going to let her man be pleased by another women especially if it isn't her.
