Цитаты из «Дамы или тигра?»

10 знаменитых строк из произведения The Lady, or the Tiger? (1882) автора Frank R. Stockton — дословно, с объяснением смысла и указанием источника.

Чтение: 11 мин

1. 1

   In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric.

   Значение: The king combines a thin layer of civilization with an extravagant, unrestricted barbaric nature.

   NarratorАбзац 1Копировать
2. 2

   He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done.

   Значение: The king consults only himself, so his personal wishes become unquestioned decisions.

   NarratorАбзац 1Копировать
3. 3

   This was the king’s semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious.

   Значение: The narrator ironically praises a justice system that lets chance decide punishment rather than evidence.

   NarratorАбзац 7Копировать
4. 4

   But gold, and the power of a woman’s will, had brought the secret to the princess.

   Значение: The princess uses wealth and determination to discover which door conceals each possible outcome.

   NarratorАбзац 13Копировать

Рассказ каждый день на вашу почту Ваша электронная почта Присылайте мне рассказы Один классический рассказ бесплатно каждое утро. Отписаться можно в любой момент.

5. 5

   Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw her.

   Значение: The princess secretly signals her chosen door to her lover.

   NarratorАбзац 17Копировать
6. 6

   Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it.

   Значение: The young man trusts the princess completely and opens the door she indicated.

   NarratorАбзац 18Копировать
7. 7

   Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?

   Значение: The narrator shifts attention from the young man’s action to the unresolved consequences of the princess’s choice.

   NarratorАбзац 19Копировать
8. 8

   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. She had lost him, but who should have him?

   Значение: Readers must judge the choice through the princess’s jealousy and despair rather than their own preferences.

   NarratorАбзац 20Копировать
9. 9

   Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation.

   Значение: The princess’s quick gesture results from prolonged emotional struggle, not a sudden impulse.

   NarratorАбзац 25Копировать
10. 10

    And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door,—the lady, or the tiger?

    Значение: The narrator leaves readers to decide whether the princess chose her lover’s survival or his death.

    NarratorАбзац 26Копировать

Вопросы об этих строках

Which came out of the door in The Lady, or the Tiger?

The story never reveals the outcome. The princess knows what each door conceals and directs her lover right, but readers must decide whether love or jealousy governs her choice.

Why does the narrator call the king’s justice fair?

The praise is ironic: identical doors offer equal uncertainty, but chance cannot establish guilt or innocence. Even survival forces the accused into a marriage regardless of personal wishes.