What is the young man’s fate?

The young man knows he is choosing between marriage to a woman the princess hates or certain death at the hands of a tiger. He also knows that the princess is aware of which door will reveal which fate. The young man asks the princess which door he should move towards, and he obeys her will, but neither he nor the audience knows what the princess would prefer for him: death or to be married off to another woman.
Stockton chooses not to reveal the answer to the question. He says that the answer "involves a study of the human heart . . . out of which it is difficult to find our way" and mentions that the princess had considered both alternatives deeply. In the end, while we know that the princess herself managed to come to a decision, the question is left up to the reader: was it the lady or the tiger which came out of the door to meet the young man?