YMMV / The Lady, or the Tiger?

• Alternative Character Interpretation: The story is ripe for this,
  • The big question is in the title. Did the princess choose the lady or the tiger?
  • The lady. Just how much of a romantic rival is she to the princess? Does she have feelings for the man, and/or vice versa? The narration admits that it is possible that the princess merely imagined the lady and her lover exchanging glances. As such, does she deserve the princess's jealousy and hatred, and are those sentiments even reciprocated?
  • The lover. When he asks her which door to choose, does he expect his princess to save him, or does he know that she'll send him to his death? Is he even potentially so in love with her that he's content with either outcome she selects for him? In either case, he opens the door she indicates without hesitation.
  • While being ripped apart by a starving tiger is obviously a horrible way to die, is being married to the lady truly a reward? The king doesn't care if the man in question is already married, or whether he even loves the woman. As for the princess's lover, the king came up with the idea in order to deal with the youth one way or the other. Obviously, the king is prepared to let the youth die, but did he give him the opportunity to get married in order to get him out of the way, or did he intend to give the young man a suitable bride to convince him not to pursue the princess? The fact that the king and those responsible for the trial went the extra mile trying to find the finest maiden in the land might indicate that they wanted to appropriately reward the man if he survived his trial.
  • As for choosing the tiger, considering that the kingdom believes in an afterlife, would the princess guide the man to the tiger to spite the lady, or to be Together in Death with the man?
• Fridge Horror:
  • While the story never tries to claim that the Door Roulette trial for criminals is a good thing, there are plenty of terrible consequences that one can imagine. Not only can unlucky innocents get Eaten Alive by the tiger, but culprits might end up getting off scot-free. As for those who end up being married, there's no guarantee that the marriage will be happy, especially for those, like the man, who already love someone else.
  • For that matter, what about the Lady in that situation? She gets married on the spot to someone who doesn't know her, might not even want her, and could well be a criminal. And given how public the whole situation is, there's no getting out of it.
• Fridge Logic: There are a number of commentators who, delving into Black Comedy levels, suggest that the man should open both doors and have the tiger eat the lady.
• Signature Scene: The prisoner being forced to choose between the lady and the tiger at the trial, which will either end with his wedding or his funeral.
• Values Dissonance: In addition to the obvious Deliberate Values Dissonance, the whole question may seem pointless to societies in which divorce is common, or even in which contracts (marriage included) made under threat of violence are null. It also assumes a society in which polyamory and/or polygamy are totally unthinkable.