two doorways with an elegant woman standing in one and a large tiger head in the other

The Lady, or the Tiger?

by Francis Richard Stockton

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Discussion Topic

Ambiguity and its impact in "The Lady, or the Tiger?"

Summary:

The story "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton is renowned for its ambiguous ending, which leaves readers questioning the outcome of the princess's choice between love and jealousy. The climax occurs as the princess signals her lover to a door, but the story ends without revealing whether a lady or a tiger emerges. This ambiguity prompts readers to reflect on human nature and the princess's character, making the story a psychological exploration and a popular topic for discussion and analysis.

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What is the climax in "The Lady, or the Tiger?"

The climax of the story comes when the young lover in the arena goes to the door indicated by the princess and opens it. Naturally the reader would expect to see whether the lady or the tiger emerged. But the author leaves that question unanswered forever. The following paragraph is the climax. 

He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it.

Something undoubtedly happens, but we will never know what it was. It happened, as the author says, "In the very olden time." We don't wonder so much about what happened to the princess's young lover as we wonder about the princess herself. She gave her lover a swift and subtle signal to...

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choose the door on the right.

No one but her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena.

The lover's fate was dependent, not on his choice between the two doors, but on hers. That is really what we want to know because it would tell us about the princess and perhaps about women in general. Would she prefer to see her lover torn to pieces by a tiger or married on the spot to the beautiful rival whom she hates. If she lets her lover get torn to pieces, that spectacle would be over with quickly. But if she lets him marry the woman she hates, she would have to endure her jealousy for many years. The two would be happy together. They might have many children. And meanwhile the princess would have to settle for another man whom she might not even love and whose inferior qualities would be a continual reminder of the man she had lost.

The princess did not make up her mind on the spur of the moment. She had plenty of time to think about what she was going to do, although it only took her an instant to give her lover the signal to choose the door on his right. Like the princess, the reader is visualizing two possible outcomes for the trusting lover. The author himself speculates about the outcome after the climax is reached.

The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way.

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What is fascinating about this story is that the princess has already given her lover the signal and he is already opening the door she indicated. This story is told as if it is an actual episode that occurred in history. So what we are left wondering is not what will happen but what did happen. Whatever it was, it happened a long time ago. Maybe it no longer matters because all the people involved would be dead. What we wonder is whether the princess let her lover be killed or whether she let him be married to her beautiful rival. Her choice seems to reflect on females in general. What would a contemporary woman do in the same circumstances? How do women think? Can they be trusted?

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The story actually ends in the climax, unlike most short stories.  Usually there is a complete plot diagram that is followed.  However, this story has a hanging ending.  That is why the climax is at the very end.  We do not know what is behind the door the princess has him open.  Because the story does not officially end for the reader, the falling action/resolution of the story is not presented to us.  The reader must choose his or her own ending.  Most students feel strongly one way or the other because of this ending.  They either love having the choice of the ending, or they hate that the story doesn't officially end for them. 

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How does "The Lady, Or the Tiger?" end?

Stockton's short story "The Lady, or the Tiger?" has an open ending, and the reader is left to decide whether or not the "semi-barbaric" princess directs her lover toward the door with the lady or the door with the tiger. The story ends with the young courtier in the arena and meeting the princess's eyes as she directs him toward a certain door. The reader is aware that the princess knows what lies behind each door but is forced to analyze her character and decide for themselves what door she directs her lover toward.

Just after the princess directs her lover toward the door on the right, Stockton writes, "Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?" Stockton then encourages the reader to examine the princess's character and motivation before making their decision. The reader is forced to view the situation from the princess's perspective and analyze her jealous, imperious nature. Stockton proceeds to elaborate on the princess's personality, and the reader recognizes that she will be devastated whether the courtier lives or dies.

If the courtier lives, the princess will be forced to watch her lover marry the beautiful maiden, which, for her, might be a worse experience than witnessing him die a brutal death. Either way, the princess will be losing her lover, and the reader must determine for themselves what decision she makes. The story involves the study of the human heart, and Stockton leaves the ending open to interpretation.

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Why is the ending of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" ambiguous?

The ambiguity of the ending of "The Lady or the Tiger?" is based entirely on the feelings and motivation of the "hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess." When her lover is in the arena and looks to her for guidance:

She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right.

Her lover has complete trust in her. But how well does he know her? How well does any man know any woman?

Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it.

The fact that the lover shows such complete faith in the love of the princess may be intended to suggest that men do not really understand women very well at all. No doubt, different readers would have different takes on this story, depending on their gender.

Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?

The princess knows which door conceals the tiger and which conceals the lady whom she passionately hates.

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 who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.

The author keeps using the word "barbaric." It is up to the reader to guess whether the beautiful lady comes out and marries the princess's lover or whether the tiger comes out and tears the poor, trusting man to shreds. In either case, the princess is going to have to observe an event that will be very painful to her. Would she rather see her lover married to the lady? Or would she prefer to see him torn to pieces by a tiger? How much does she really love this man? And would the strength of her love make her choose to save him or sacrifice him to another woman?

The author takes pains to characterize this princess as a woman with a strong and passionate nature. A less "savage" and "barbaric" woman would undoubtedly choose to do the compassionate and enthical thing, which would be to save her lover's life and allow him to enjoy happiness with her rival.

The reader is not really required to guess what happened but to guess what the princess decided to do. The setting is of extreme importance to this story. It takes place in "the very olden time" and in a barbaric land. There seems to be a strong possibility that this princess might easily decide to have her lover killed before her eyes. She has probably witnessed many such spectacles already in her young lifetime. She may have made her decision long before she entered her seat above the arena.

But, on the other hand, if she didn't care enough about her lover to be able to contemplate watching him killed by a tiger, why should she care about letting him marry the other woman?

The story ends inconclusively:

...it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you. Which came out of the opened door--the lady, or the tiger?

The story is famous because of that ambiguous ending.

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Did Stockton leave "The Lady, or the Tiger?" ambiguous for a specific effect?

When Stockton left the ending of the story ambiguous, he was creating a psychological test that would tell you what kind of person you were based on who you think she chose.

Stockton describes a story where a semi-barbaric king develops a system of justice where the accused has to choose between two doors.  Behind one door is a tiger that will maul him to death; behind the other door is a beautiful lady for him to marry.  The king has complete faith in his system of justice.

The inevitable happens.  The king’s daughter falls in love with a young man, and he does not approve.  He sentences the young man to his special arena, and his semi-barbaric daughter finds out what is behind each door.  She must choose whether he will die or marry her rival.

Stockton never tells us how the story ends.  Which one did she choose?  At this point, Stockton directly addresses the reader.

The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one per-son able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door - the lady, or the tiger?

So of course, the reader will wonder.  Basically, if you are a cynical person you are going to think that she killed him.  If you are a romantic, you will think she let him live.

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Why did Stockton leave the ending of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" ambiguous?

There are several reasons why Stockton might have left the end of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" ambiguous. Perhaps one of the clearest reasons is to stimulate discussion and controversy among readers. This is Stockton's most famous story, and it is regularly taught in literature classes and in creative writing classes as an example of a surprise ending. This iconic status the story enjoys is a function of its ambiguity. Furthermore, one of the reasons writers write anything is because they want readers to think about the ideas they raise. The ambiguous ending of the story is one that makes the reader think.

One might, however, approach the question from the opposite perspective. Why would Stockton have chosen to end the story with the door opening to reveal either the lady or the tiger? Both of these endings seem rather flat and perhaps also too didactic in what they would claim to reveal about human nature. If the lady is behind the door, the story becomes a sentimental fable about the selflessness of true love. If the tiger emerges to tear the young courtier to pieces, it is a cynical story about possessive jealousy. In either case, that story would be inferior to the one Stockton actually wrote.

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That's all well and good , ask996--until he has to face an enraged, semi-barbaric, former-lover princess.  Wouldn't want to face that!  This story was originally published in a kind of magazine or newspaper form, and the public outcry was phenomenal.  Everyone wanted to know which was the "right" answer, and Stockton gave a simple answer:  I'll make people unhappy whichever side I might choose, so I choose neither.  He claimed he really had no idea, and that is, perhaps, believable.  If he had chosen any other women, the answer would have been the lady.  Given the history between them, though, the answer is anything but clear--and he liked it that way.

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You guys really think the ending’s ambiguous? I thought Stockton made it very clear:D LOL My favorite theory goes like this. The lady knew who the girl was. She knew what door the girl was behind. She hated the girl because she’d seen her lover and the girl flirting. So when she indicated what door her lover should choose it was the one behind which the tiger was located. After all she did have a barbaric nature. However, her lover knew her nature. He would know she would find out. He would know that she would not want him to be with another woman. He would know that she would send him to the door with the tiger, so, knowing her nature he chose the door opposite the one to which she directed him, and thus he ended up with the beautiful girl anyway.

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I don't suppose we can know exactly why the author ended the story by not resolving the dramatic tension and providing a conclusion. One thing we do know, however, is that it is the ambiguous ending that has made this story very memorable and much discussed. It is the ending that has made this story so well known. Readers supply their own endings, based upon their interpretation of the context clues and their personal beliefs about human nature.

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Why is the ending of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" effective and how does its ambiguity affect readers?

Interestingly, the lack of denouement in Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?" forbids any passivity upon the part of the readers, who must involve themselves in the composition of the ending themselves.  And, with the various turnings and twisting of the characterization and the employment of much verbal irony on Stockton's part, composing an ending to a satiric fairy-tale is no easy task.

So, depending upon the readers' interpretation of the irony and understanding of the characterization of the princess, who is the center of the tension of the story, endings will vary as they must consider Stockton's princess who, herself, has ambivalent feelings about her lover, as well as a conflict within her "semi-barbaric" nature.

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Which door did the princess point to at the end of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" and why?

It seems to me that the quandary of this story is that of making a true assessment of human nature--human nature as revealed in the princess's characterization, at any rate. If we accept both sides--the loving and the imperial--of the characterization of the princess, are we willing to accept the outcome of the exercise of that characterization? After many years of insisting upon the princess's sacrificial love for the young man because it would be too horrible if she sacrificed the young man, I agree that textual evidence gives ample indication that her characterization points to only one satisfactory end for her--regardless of the young man's faith in her. She sent him to the door with the tiger.

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I do believe that there are context clues in the short story that suggest what she may have chosen. For instance, she is described as "fervent," "imperils," and barbaric. The author shows us that this is one stance in which the apple does not all too far from the tree. The author describes her as arrogant and even states that "savage blood [was] transmitted through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors." The princess hated the lady behind the door and was passionately jealous. The author states that while many times the princess thought in horror of the man being devoured by the lion, she thought even more times of the lady winning her love. The princess is not described as the sort of woman who would sacrifice her own life and happiness for the sake of one she loves. Therefore, sad to say, the princess chose the tiger.

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I don't think there are any clues in the story to suggest the ending. I think Stockton has actually given just enough evidence to point towards both outcomes. What makes this tale so compelling is that we are left to write the ending for ourselves, which greatly increases our enjoyment of it.

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I read somewhere that Stockton said that which choice you think she made said what kind of person you are. Maybe the kind of choice you think she made based on clues in the story, or maybe the choice you would have made if you were in the same position.
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In the story "The Lady or the Tiger?", the ending is not written for the reader, but the author gives the reader the power to choose what happens.  It is my opinion that living in a kingdom with a 'semi-barbaric' king, the princess will point to the tiger.  Her beloved will be killed by the tiger so that she does not have  to watch him live happily with another woman when she wants him for herself.  I believe that because she has lived her life under the influence of the king who is labeled 'semi-barbaric', she will not be merciful as that is not what she has learned.  I also don't think that she would want to watch him live his life happily married to a woman other than herself.  She wants him for herself or for no one.  I'm glad that you added the why to this question as it elevates the question into a higher level.

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