In Stockton's celebrated short story, the audience must determine which door the young man opens by examining his character and analyzing what he knows about the princess. The young man must consider the princess's background as well as the strength of their love. The young man certainly knows that the princess is in love with him and can tell that she knows what lies behind each door when he glances at her in the crowd. He also understands that she would never allow him to marry the fair maiden as a reward. The princess is an envious, selfish woman who prides herself in having her way and will never accept not having what she desires.

She has seen the young man flirting with the attractive maiden before and the two "throwing glances of admiration" at each other. One could imagine that she mentioned her displeasure to the young man at some point, and he knows she would never allow him to be with the maiden. The young man understands the princess's thought process and anticipates that she is trying to trick him. The princess is also a clever woman and expects the young man to choose the opposite of where she points. It would make sense that she would point to the door with the maiden behind it, knowing that he would choose the opposite. Knowing that the princess is deceiving him, the young man would choose the door on the right, which is presumably the safer option following this logic.

Stockton does not specifically tell the reader what door the young courtier opens and purposely leaves it up to the reader for interpretation. The reader knows that the princess shares her father's "savage blood" and despises the beautiful maiden awaiting her lover behind one of the doors. A reader with a more cynical view of the world would more than likely determine that the princess would steer her lover towards the door with the hungry tiger to avoid witnessing him enjoy life with another woman. Readers with a more romantic, optimistic outlook on life believe that the princess would save her lover, even if it means he would marry another woman.

The question then becomes whether the young courtier trusts the princess enough to follow her instructions and choose the opposite door. If the young man is astute and perceptive, he would take into account the princess's semi-barbaric disposition and assume that she would lead him into grave danger. Therefore, he would make the wise decision to choose the opposite of what the princess advised.

Stockton does write that their "souls are one" and mentions that the young man "understood her nature." This would suggest that the young man is aware that the princess is envious enough to entertain the possibility of leading him towards the door with the tiger and wisely choose the opposite. If the young man trusts the princess, he would choose the door on the right, which is the door she hinted at. Personally, I believe that the young man chooses the opposite and opens the left door because he does not trust the princess and recognizes her savage nature.

The young man has certain considerations:  The princess does love him, but she has seen him talking with a fair maiden and has become jealous as a result. And, she does have barbarism coursing through her blood. In addition, the princess knows the young woman who stands behind one door, a young coutier who has cast admiring looks at the young man many a time.

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 to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman sho bluched and trembled behind that silent door.

Yet, even though the young man knows that the princess is aware of who is behind the doors, when the princess indicates the door to the right, it is this same door that the young man chooses, also. He chooses the door to the right, the same that she has chosen because, he believes, she figures that he will think she is trying to trick him since she is jealous, so he will then choose the left door where lies the tiger.

When he chooses the right door, it should, then, be the one containing the fair maiden.

Since we do not have any way of definitively knowing--the author made sure of that--we are all free to speculate. Here's my guess: she told him to open the door with the princess so her lover would live. THEN she will, at some point in time (probably sooner rather than later) she will do away with the beautiful princess and have her lover to herself again.

I think that this question really needs to be moved to the discussion section given this is one of the questions many students have pondered over the years.

One could justify either door in actuality. Readers know that the princess is semi-barbaric, like her father. Perhaps the thought of her lover being with another woman is simply too much for her to take and she believes it would best for him to die.

One could also justify that the princess loves her lover too much to bear the thought of his death. For that reason, she would have lead him to the door that the beautiful woman would have come out of.

In all actuality, Stockton never leads the reader in one direction or another. He simply leaves the answer up to the mind of the reader alone.

That being said, ones answer would depend solely upon their own barbaric nature.

I myself would like to see the lover and the princess together, but since I cannot, who can resit a good 'ol slaughter?