Why doesn't T'Pau tell Kirk the fight is to the death?

TPau probably thought every ritual fight for a woman is to the death.

It probably is in some cultures on Earth.

 

I always assumed T'Pau just knew exactly what she was doing. She always had that aura of having things well in hand, even when they seemed the most chaotic. YMMV, though.

 

Yes, that's part of why I'm assuming that she deliberately misled Kirk. My question is WHY?

 

Perhaps she knew the logical outcome? To prevent T'Pring from gaining a foothold to Spock's family's properties and name? Maybe she knew T'Pring's duplicity didn't stop with love alone.

 

Yep. T'Pau has a little bit of heart and soul.

 

She did tell him. Just not in a timely manner.

Anyway, it was widely assumed in the 1960s that any man would fight to the death to win actress Arlene Martel (T'Pring, and Tiger on "Hogan's Heroes.")

 

"This is the Vulcan heart. This is the Vulcan soul. This is our way."

 

None of the above. She didn't tell Kirk because there was never any reason to do so to start with and it isn't her job to explain Vulcan mating rituals to outworlders. In fact she went out of her way to make sure Kirk understood Vulcan rituals are not binding on him and to explain them more than was necessary. She was under no obligation to tell him anything and in fact went out of her way to do so.
In fact- Kirk himself states that he knew Vulcans once had to fight and kill for their mates. What he never understood was that the biological drive was so strong- far stronger than in humans (and look what we do in the name of sex)-and that the potential to have to fight and kill was still the custom. As Spock himself said- the Vucans themselves do not speak of it and shroud it in ritual.