The Lessons and Philosophies on Revenge in "The Lady, Or The Tiger" by Frank R. Stockton and "On Revenge" by Sir Francis Bacon

Revenge in Literature

Is revenge just and right, or should we deal with our differences through the law and court? The Bible’s teachings on revenge do not align with Francis Bacon’s lessons on revenge, or the actions of the princess in The Lady or The Tiger, however the Princess’s actions in The Lady or The Tiger follow the guidelines that Bacon set to follow if one must take revenge.The Bible teaches that followers should take revenge as it is done to them in a fair manner, but not to commit greater sins against them than they did to the one taking revenge. In “On Revenge” Francis Bacon philosophizes that revenge is not worth it, but if it is taken, it should be carried out lawfully and carefully. In “The Lady or The Tiger” the princess takes revenge in accordance with bacon’s guidelines, lawfully and carefully.

The teachings of the Bible tell readers to take revenge fairly. In the Bible, “Exodus 21:24” teaches “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” This means revenge should be take on the same level of the original sin. For example, if a friend steals money from another friend, the friend stolen from should respond by taking items of similar value from him, not by murdering his whole family. This differs from Bacon’s beliefs on revenge because Bacon believes that revenge should not be taken, because it is not just, or worth it. In “On Revenge” he preaches “This is certain that a man that studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal…”. Bacon believes that taking revenge prevents one from getting over what was done to them, while the writers and prophets of the Bible believe that revenge solves problems and situations.

The princess’s actions in The Lady or The Tiger do not align with the the Bible’s teachings on revenge, because the Bibles says to take revenge justly and fairly, while the Princess responds to her Lover merely talking with another woman by getting him killed. The Bible advocates for friendship and it is not a sin, which is shown by Ecclesiastes 4:10 which states, “But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” The Lover does not sin or trespass against the princess when he simply talks to another girl. And even if it was a sin against her, flirting is not even close to the same magnitude as murder.

In The Lady or The Tiger, the princess follows many of Bacon’s guidelines and teachings in “On Revenge”. In “On Revenge” Bacon wisely states, “For as the first wrong it doth but offend the law; but the revenge of that wrong putteth the law out of office.” At first glance it might seem that the Princess actions are totally contradicting of Bacon’s words, but they are not. When Bacon denounces revenge for throwing out the law, he is speaking about revenges that are outside the law. The Princess gets revenge on her lover within the law, in a barbaric but real court. In this way she takes revenge on her Lover without fully straying from Bacon’s teachings. One could say she does take illegal action, by bribing workers to find out which door the tiger was within, but she did this without the full intentions of getting the lover killed. Finding out what door held the tiger was not her revenge. Therefore, the princess’s actions in The Lady or The Tiger follow Bacon’s teachings.

Thus the Bible’s teachings on revenge do not align with Bacon’s ideas, or the princess’s actions. However the princess’s actions follow Bacon’s teachings. The Bible teaches that thou shall take revenge fairly as it is done to them. In “On Revenge” Bacon states that revenge is not fair or worth it, but if taken should be taken lawfully and publicly. In The Lady or The Tiger the princess does take revenge, however she does do so within Bacon’s guidelines of revenge if it’s necessary. In conclusion, whether revenge is just or not is a matter of opinion and personal experience. Different experiences and beliefs translate into different opinions on the appropriateness of revenge.