A flashback is an abrupt shift in the setting of a story, in that the narrative ceases to continue in a linear fashion but, instead, jumps back to an earlier point in time. This technique is usually used to shed further light on the current situation, and this is how it is used in this story.

When the princess's young lover enters the arena, he does so within the main timeline of the story: the crowd pities him, and we, the audience, do not know what will happen to him. Then the perspective changes. We are provided with further details in the form of a flashback.

The princess, we are told, had taken it upon herself to discover which door held the lady and which one the tiger. More than this, however, the princess had discovered exactly which lady was to be her lover's reward. We are told that she had often seen "or imagined" she had seen this lady, who was very beautiful, paying amorous attention to her lover. We are also told that she thought these attentions might have been returned.

The flashback ends when the princess's eyes meet that of the young man and it becomes clear that he knows she knows which door will lead to his doom. The frustrating, and intriguing, thing for the reader is that the flashback ends before we learn what the princess intends to do with her knowledge. Will she allow her lover to be devoured, rather than surrender him to the arms of a woman she hates? That is for the reader to decide.