Madsen Hardy has a doctorate in English literature. In the following essay, she discusses Stockton's satirical revision of the traditional fairytale form as a rebellion against the cultural dominance of European literature in the turn-of-the century United States.

One of the most useful questions that a student reader can ask is: "What kind of expectations do I have for this work?" When one starts to read, one cannot help but bring certain assumptions and expectations to the experience. Authors count on readers for this and often help them along, leading them to believe that their stories will follow a certain course and obey certain rules about how a story works. Upon picking up Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?," readers will probably have general expectations something along these lines: This will be a short story. It will introduce its characters, place them in a situation...