Lady and the Tiger

Themes found in “The Lady or the Tiger”:

1. Jealousy can cause people to act unjustly (unfairly):

Text evidence:  
We see evidence of this when   the narrator states, [..] think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy.”

Analysis and explanation:
This quote reveals that the princess was obsessed with her lover and might choose the tiger because she is consumed by her “jealousy”. Her jealousy could lead her to make “unjust” or unfair decisions even about the man she loves. Jealousy is an all-consuming fire that could live inside of one and change the person he/she is.


2. Love vs. Jealousy: The choice of whether to follow love or give into jealousy.
Text evidence:  
We see evidence of this when the narrator states, “and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in his soul he knew she would succeed.”
Analysis and explanation:
This quote reveals that the princess’s lover did not know what door to choose. He looked at her for an answer hoping she would offer him some direction because she knew what was behind each door. The princess was indecisive on whether or not she should help him, the “love” of her life, or let him die at the tiger’s teeth. Unfortunately the princess was so “barbaric” just like her father, she may have chosen the tiger because she would have been too “jealous” if her lover ended up in the arms of another maiden.

3. Loyalty vs. Selfishness

Text evidence:  
We see evidence of this when the author states, “Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.”
Analysis and explanation:
This quote reveals that decision was very...