- punishment for crimes/reward for innocence = unknown "consequence" of a lady or a tiger
- lady door = immediate wedding ceremony
- the lady or the tiger system of justice was the king's idea
- the king seems especially cruel for making his daughter's lover a pick a door
- punishing his daughter, too!
- the princess knows what is behind each door when her lover is in the arena, and she gives him a signal
- no set answer exists for how the story ends--the ending is arguable based on reader analysis
Resonant Passages
- "The semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own."
- "The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted through long lines of whole barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door."
- themes of love and hate explored
- characterization of the princess--suggests that maybe she is more than only partially cruel
- could be used as evidence in arguing the story's ending
- bells are mentioned multiple times
- bells of death
- bells of happiness
- the bells at story's end
- "right" is repeated multiple times
- a direction, but also suggests the word "correct" or the idea of "righteousness"
Characterization
- the king
- "semi-barbaric"
- fully barbaric?!
- the king's daughter (the princess)
- like her dad
- maybe more barbaric than her dad?
- jealous of the lady behind the door
- the lover of the princess
- handsome
- not royalty
- understands the princess' personality
- maybe trustworthy?
- the lady
- the tiger
- a community member in the arena
Theme Words/Theme Statements
- barbarism/savagery
- choice
- fairness
- hate
- human nature
- influence
- jealousy
- One can make negative or positive or, even sometimes, life or death decisions based on jealousy.
- justice
- Who determines what is "just"?
- In this case, it seems that the king and the king alone makes this decision in his creation of his justice system.
- A form of justice that seems fair might not actually be fair when one actually thinks about it.
- love
- trust
Arguing About the Ending
- The lady came out of the door at the end.
- The tiger came out of the door at the end.
