The Princess Bride: A Classic Tale of True Wuv

The Princess Bride, William Goldman's masterpiece, is perhaps better classified as a "cult classic" than as a bona fide literary classic. Nevertheless, it is a classic and can thus be discussed on this page.

First of all, I have to admit that I didn't even know the story existed in book form. Living in the punch-and-cookies land of Mormondom (Utah), it is impossible not to know of the movie's existence. Here, it is considered the queen of wholesome entertainment, utterly innocent and immensely quotable. However, I did not know that it was also a book until I happened to see it at my local library. Since I adored the movie, I decided to read the book. No big surprise: It was wonderful. Sarcastic and satirical, the book is hilarious and a very fun read.

The story of Westley and Buttercup is framed by that of an "autobiographical" sketch of the author and his grandfather. William Goldman outlines the scene: as a child, he was sick with pneumonia, so his grandfather decided to read him a story to soothe his pain. The old man dragged out The Priness Bride by S. Morgenstern. Goldman says he later realized that his grandfather skipped much of the storybook and related only the "good parts." So, as Goldman states in the introduction, he decided to abridge Morgenstern's story and keep only the good parts. Thus emerges "The Princess Bride," the story of Westley and Buttercup, which goes like this:

Buttercup, a beautiful, but dense young woman, is raised on a farm, where her chief amusements are riding her horse (aptly named "Horse") and torturing the farm boy, Westley. She is relentless in her demands of him, until one day she discovers that she is actually madly in love with him. Of course, he feels the same way, but he must make some money before he can ask her to marry him. So, off he goes. In the years that he is gone, Buttercup becomes engaged to the hunt-happy Prince Humperdink. It is to be a loveless marriage because she has pledged herself to Westley, whom she now believes is dead. A few months before the wedding is to take place, Buttercup is kidnapped by an unusual trio of criminals, led by a sharp-thinking Sicilian. Luckily, she is rescued by "the man in black," none other than her beloved Westley. However, when Prince Humperdink confronts the pair, Buttercup chooses to wed him so that Westley's life can be spared. Prince Humperdink promises his princess that he will send Westley sailing. However, he locks Westley up in his grisly zoo of death where he is tortured and killed. Thank goodness for the miracle man who brings Westley back to life, so he and Buttercup can live happily ever after.

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