Stockton emphasizes the harrowing experience of “hearing the cries and seeing the blood of his beloved as the tiger tears him to pieces” (207). It would be very difficult to face the violent death of his beloved, but seeing him torn apart by the man-eating tiger is only temporary; while the marriage would last a lifetime. Why would the princess let him live happily ever after? After all, Stockton states that “The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the princess's beloved; and with all the intensity of the wild blood transmitted to her by long lines of entire barbarian ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door” (205). The princess had many hours to reflect on her decision and since she comes from a long line of savagely cruel ancestors, it is very likely that she made the savage decision. Instead of watching her lover be overjoyed and married to a woman he despises, she would likely rather watch her beloved be violently attacked and