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0 pointsthe_af5y ago0 comments

That's a bit unfair, though I agree the story is not particularly well written.

To me, the ending question is interesting. I want to know what happens! I think the princess leads her lover to the tiger, after all her temper is barbaric and she also thinks she'll reunite with him in the afterlife. That bloodshed though...

It's also remarkable in that it apparently inspired the Monty Hall door challenge, which is of obvious interest to the HN crowd.

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watwut5y ago

One problem is that the story gives zero information on princess except her blood being barbaric. And the story also have overall very odds treatment of justice and fairness. And characters are cartoons. And the only property of wife that matters is her look.

Which is why I did not cared about how it ends. The people in story are not real enough to reason about them. They don't have psychology beyond crude stereotypes.

Like, ok, she grew with psychopathic dad, which the story author basically praises. She had likely accumulated trauma and resentment towards dad and own never met emotional needs. Is she even capable of strong emotiomal commitment? People with dads like that struggle in that area.

Maybe whole relationship was just her way to get revenge on dad by being involved in humiliating relationship for him. We really don't know whether she will be jealous or not, given that she knew she wont marry this dude from day 1. Or she hinted nothing, or she had no idea and hinted only to unparalyze him.

But the story author does not consider such option, because she is not real character. She is just literary device. She is supposed to be motivated solely by dudes body beauty, but that is not real people think.

the_afOP5y ago

> One problem is that the story gives zero information on princess except her blood being barbaric [...] And the only property of wife that matters is her look.

This is the only information you really need.

> They don't have psychology beyond crude stereotypes.

Do you similarly judge a fable by Aesop? Or poetry about human emotions? Have you read Saki's masterful short story, "Sredni Vashtar", and do you similarly dislike it because its characters are not full-fledged?

Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. What information would you need to decide?

watwut5y ago

Fables by Aeson are better translated typically - sentences flow better. They also don't pretend to create deep puzzle about humanity while being shallow. They are what they are, simple stories.

That being said, I did not particularly enjoyed them. But again, they come across as more honest.

> This is the only information you really need

No it is not. Really really it is not if the puzzle is supposed to tell something about you or humans. It could have been interesting if she had actual complex personality and actual relationships. But she does not.

Well beyond "what if you are raised by abusive psychopathic dad and then someone looking down on you all writes story about it".

codeulike5y ago

Good point, one of the reasons I find the 'well lets stop the story and imagine what she might have done' thing doesn't work is because she is not very real.

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watwut5y ago

Which is why I did not cared about how it ends. The people in story are not real enough to reason about them. They don't have psychology beyond crude stereotypes.

the_afOP5y ago

> One problem is that the story gives zero information on princess except her blood being barbaric [...] And the only property of wife that matters is her look.

This is the only information you really need.

> They don't have psychology beyond crude stereotypes.

Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. What information would you need to decide?

watwut5y ago

Fables by Aeson are better translated typically - sentences flow better. They also don't pretend to create deep puzzle about humanity while being shallow. They are what they are, simple stories.

That being said, I did not particularly enjoyed them. But again, they come across as more honest.

> This is the only information you really need

Well beyond "what if you are raised by abusive psychopathic dad and then someone looking down on you all writes story about it".

codeulike5y ago

Good point, one of the reasons I find the 'well lets stop the story and imagine what she might have done' thing doesn't work is because she is not very real.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse