The setting of this story is an ancient kingdom somewhere in the proximity of Rome. This kingdom has an arena to entertain its subjects, similar to how Rome had the coliseum. However, the narrator is quick to point out that this arena was used for a different purpose. In Rome, gladiators would fight and religious prisoners would be killed. In the kingdom of the story, the arena is instead a kind of courthouse. Judgment on guilt or innocence is passed in this arena. There are two doors from which the accused must choose: one holds guilt, in the form of a tiger that will rip the person to shreds, and the other holds innocence, in the form of a lady the accused will then marry. The king even keeps a priest and merrymakers behind a third door, ready to spring out and conduct the marriage should the accused be deemed innocent. 

This bizarre arrangement paints an interesting picture of the setting. One can visualize the two doors standing on one side of the arena as the king and his subjects watch the choice. The narrator denotes that this is a fairly barbaric arrangement since guilt and innocence are usually decided by more rational means. But this setting is a barbarous kingdom, where these judgments are handed down by chance for the entertainment of the kingdom’s subjects.