1 Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Book Line May Explain Tigris’ Transformation In The Hunger Games

Tigris changes significantly between the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Hunger Games, and a line from the prequel novel may explain why. One of the most significant shocks of Coriolanus Snow’s story is the reveal that he and Tigris, the Capitol rebel who helped Katniss in The Hunger Games, were cousins. Having been raised in the same household, the two cared deeply for one another during their childhood and young adult years. However, since Tigris was later pleased with the idea of Katniss assassinating Snow, something obviously changed—and her shocking physical appearance in later years may have something to do with this.

When Katniss met Tigris in The Hunger Games, the woman underwent several surgeries that made her look more animal than human. In the movie, the character tells Katniss that she was fired as a stylist because her surgeries meant she was no longer pretty enough. However, this was only a theory that Katniss considered in the books and was never confirmed. All that is known is that Tigris used to be one of the most popular stylists in the Hunger Games until she suddenly disappeared from the spotlight. Katniss assumes that this is why the woman hated Snow, but the revelations from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes suggest otherwise.

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Snow Might Have Forced Tigris’ Surgeries To Make Her Less “Sweet” & “Vulnerable”

In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes book, Coriolanus Snow loved Tigris and felt very protective over her—to the point that it was sometimes disturbing. At one point, Coryo thinks about what would happen to his family if he didn’t win the Plinth Prize and considers whether Tigris would have any success if she turned to prostitution. Through his inner dialogue, readers see him conclude that, though she wasn’t beautiful, his cousin could potentially use her body to earn money because of her sweetness and vulnerability:

“With her long, pointed nose and skinny body, Tigris was no great beauty, but she had a sweetness, a vulnerability that invited abuse. She would find takers, if she had a mind to.” – The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Snow’s description of Tigris here certainly contradicts how Katniss considers the woman in The Hunger Games. As a tiger-like being, Tigris was menacing—even revolting. After considering her vulnerability, Snow concludes that he would never let anyone possess his cousin this way. As a member of his family, Tigris was his, and the subtle possessiveness that existed in the young Coriolanus of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes would only have grown as he became a powerful dictator. Therefore, it’s possible that Snow forced the surgeries on Tigris to make her less sweet and vulnerable, thus ensuring that no one would desire her enough to use her against him.

Similarly, it’s also possible that Tigris chose to have her surgeries to ensure Snow no longer saw her as desirable. It’s revealed in The Hunger Games that Snow would sell the bodies of attractive victors for his own financial gain and benefit. Since Coryo realized in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes that Tigris could attract people in this way, he may have attempted to use her body similarly, especially if he had shunned any of his remaining love for her. If this were the case, Tigris might have turned herself into the creature seen in The Hunger Games to stop Snow’s customers from being interested in her, which would also be why the dictator abandoned her.

Katniss Assumed Tigris’ Transformation Was Voluntary In The Hunger Games (But That Doesn’t Fit Her BOSAS Character)

When Katniss recognized Tigris in The Hunger Games, she assumed that Snow had fired her from being a stylist after her surgeries had gone too far. This was the only thing that the Mockingjay could think would make someone famously associated with the Games become a rebel—defining Tigris as the exemplification of the Capitol’s greed and excess. However, the sweet, compassionate person introduced in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes completely contradicts the assumptions made about Tigris. The young girl in the prequel hated the Games and was far too astute in fashion to think that making herself into an animal would be considered stylish.

Instead, it makes far more sense that Tigris’ surgeries were Snow’s doing, or, at least, were a result of his abuse. After the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Coryo concluded that love was the greatest weakness a person could have. With Lucy Gray out of the picture, the only person left that he loved was Tigris, and, unfortunately, this meant that she was the most at risk of his cruelty after Snow returned to the Capitol.

Snow Forcing Tigris To Take Part In The Games & Go Through Surgeries Would Explain Her Hatred In The Hunger Games

It’s tragic to consider how much Tigris loved Coryo in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes compared to how much she despised him in The Hunger Games. She could easily see the good in him when he was young, and the prequel novel proved that Snow had the potential to be who Tigris hoped he was. However, his participation in the Hunger Games and his experience in District 12 caused him to not only embrace his own darkest tendencies but to also assume that everyone else was just as evil as him and, therefore, required meticulous control and domination.

Tigris may have tried, for a time, to bring Coryo back to who he had been before, but as he continued to work as a Gamemaker and eventually secure his place within Panem’s government, she would have eventually seen that it was useless. Then, as he exercised his control over her, forcing her to be a stylist for the Games (perhaps, like Cinna in The Hunger Games, she thought she could help the tributes) and disfiguring her body, Tigris would have given up on her cousin. Ultimately, when considering the possibilities, it’s no surprise that after Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a girl like Tigris would wish the dictator dead.