The Lady or the Tiger

[esophea]

What is the decision of the princess at the end of the story?

Can any one give a ligical or resonable decision?
the lady or the tiger?

[susiedqq]

What is the decision of the princess at the end of the story?


I think that someone wants you to tell them:

After reading the story, how did the princess change?

[wtf]

Well, I don't know what story you guys are talking about… The only thing I know of ladies and tigers is this limmerick:

There was a Lady from Niger,
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
They came back from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile in the face of the tiger.

Is that it?

[thedaffodils]

Originally Posted by wtf

Well, I don't know what story you guys are talking about… The only thing I know of ladies and tigers is this limmerick:

There was a Lady from Niger,
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
They came back from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile in the face of the tiger.

Is that it?

Hi! I think the thread starter refers to the short story by Frank R. Stockton.

Here's the URL link from Wikipedia about the outline of the story.

The Lady, or the Tiger? - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[David L.]

The decision (and outcome of the story) depends on the princess's concept of 'love':
1. if her love is selfless, then he married the other woman.
2. if her love is possessive and consuming, of the kind, 'I love him too much to let him go - if I can't have him, nobody will', the princess sent him to the tiger.

[thedaffodils]

I removed my answer as below, I had hoped the thread starter could post his/her decision first. But now I really can't resist the temptation of posting it out. Here's my two cents.

It depends on every reader's intrepretation about love. If I were the princess, I would choose lady for the reasons as below:

- I believe that true love is not to possess the person I love, but hope he will be alive and be happy.

- I'll have nightmare often if I kill the man indirectly.

- If the man still lives, we can find some solution, for example, we can run away together; If he dies, the love is totally over.

- I believe there're a lot of fish in the sea. So what, even if he married with another woman.

[Anglika]

My response is the same as yours and David's. The princess would rather her beloved lived, even if married to another.

I suspect the answer depends a lot on a person's nature. A pessimistic or possessive person would prefer he died, an optimistic person would prefer he lived.

[MaryTeacher]

I think the author is also trying to tell us something about ourselves. What choice we think the princess will make doesn't depend on the story: it could really go either way. The choice we believe she will make is a reflection of our own beliefs about love.

[Kruschen49]

Well, if i am the princess i would rather let my lover choose the door with the lady behind it. I will set him free becasue I love him. Seeing him with another woman is better than seeing him rip into pieces by the tiger. If you love somebody you have to sacrifice and even it will hurt you so much you have to endure it for the sake of his freedom.