Imagine walking on the street one day, coming home after you did your errands. Suddenly soldiers barrel towards your direction and they grab your shirt. “We got him!” one yells. The next morning, soldiers order you into a courtroom. They tell you that one door contains a lion that will kill you immediately, and the other door has a woman in which you must marry her instantly. Which door should you open? You either: get married, or get devoured.
‘The Lady, or the Tiger?’ is a short story about a semi-barbaric king, who thinks that an ingenious idea for proving innocence or guilt is to hold this ‘trial’ where the accused have a choice of opening one of the two doors. One door holds a woman in which the accused person has to marry her on the spot, and the other door contains a tiger that will devour you instantly. The king’s daughter really likes a man, and their love goes on until the king figures out. The king immediately locks that man up, and he is to go on the trial. The daughter knows which door holds which, but she hates the woman behind one of doors. She points to a door to let the man know, but, the question is, what came out? The story lets us hanging so we can decide: the lady, or the tiger?
I firmly belive that this type of ‘trial’ is unfair, because you don’t even get to prove yourself innocent. Today, we can always have a chance to call for a lawyer, or even just defend yourselves. Unfortunately, in the story, many people fall victim to the tiger, even when they are innocent. Also, some of the accused are already maried, so even if they open the door with the woman, they still are forced to marry the female, which is really complicated stuff in our days. It’s actually illegal in some countries to do that, because it breaks up both families hearts alike. I dislike the way that the spectators are actually okay with these shocking ‘dramas’, where people either are ripped to bits or in a surprise marriage. They should be not coming to watch with excitement, anticipating whether it’s bloody or cuddly.
To recapitulate, the king’s unfair trial is proof of his barbarity, and such things today should be stopped immediately. The people of the king’s country should be ashamed of themselves, that they won’t stop such actions. The ‘trial’ is, ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’.