Chitwood

Mary Chitwood
Communication 2028
Professor Crews
7 August 2015
The Morality of The Princess Bride
Fairytales have been a source of morality for hundreds of years.
Modern fairytales like The Princess Bride are no exception. This movie is
perfectly set up for a narrative analysis based on its fairytale-like morality
(the main story of Princess Buttercup and Wesley) and its surrounding story
of realism (the grandfather reading to his grandson). The morality of the
main story affects both story lines: i.e. true love conquers all in the fairy tale
world and the young grandson learns to appreciate both adventure and love.
There is also a subtler message wisdom can be found in unlikely places. In
the beginning of the story the grandson says, A book? in a derogatory tone.
At the end he asks his grandfather to come tomorrow and read it again. And
no one who has seen the movie can discount Inigo Montoyas lesson on
determination. Using the narrative approach, The Princess Bride teaches
people that true love conquers all, wisdom comes in unlikely places, and
determination reaps benefits.
As the grandfather begins the story of Buttercup and Wesley, love is
immediately the forefront theme, bound to overcome absence, the Fire
Swamp, death, and ultimately Prince Humperdinck. Even from the beginnings
of their relationship, the movie subtly hints at future obstacles for the couple.

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Wesley assures a worried Buttercup of his return from sea, saying, This is
true love. Do you think this happens everyday? The viewer knows that this
statement must causally be followed by hardship since this is an adventure
movie. Love never does come easily. In the next few lines, Buttercup hears
that Wesleys ship has been attacked, and is vowing to never love another.
Because, as Wesley says when they are reunited, and as Buttercup has
always known in her heart, Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is
delay it for a while. This statement is challenged by the Fire Swamp and The
Machine. The couple braves the swamp, which no one has ever survived
before (presumably their love carries them through), only to be caught by
Humperdinck. Sacrificing happiness for love, Buttercup hands Wesley over to
the prince, not knowing he will become an experiment to The Machine. But
Prince Humperdinck is outraged when Buttercup tells him of the strength of
their love. In a passionate hatred, he kills Wesley with The Machine. But
while Wesley is mostly dead, the couples love is fully alive. Miracle Max
(who sells miracles for a fee) asks what Wesley has to live fordesiring to
know if his resurrection is merited. Beyond life, Wesley groans, truuuue
looove, which is the worthiest of causes. After Wesley regains life, he strikes
fear into Humperdincks heart via a verbal attack; Humperdinck fearfully
submits. And this culminates the couples hard-earned journey to happily
ever after.
Subsequent to the books opening focus on love, the grandson is
disgusted by the idea that this is a kissing book. Love may win in the

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storybook, but he is determined to have his grandfather skip to the good

parts. This disinterest is almost the truer test than the couples challenges
within the book. What can make a young boy enjoy a romance? However,
throughout the course of the book, this is exactly what happens. Slowly,
subtly, the boy comes to appreciate their love. And, when the grandfather
proffers to skip the kissing scene at the end, the boy tells him that he can go
ahead and read it. His body language and tone of voice indicate that he not
only permits this, but also desires this.
At the same time that the boy comes to appreciate the love story, he
also comes to appreciate a broader perspective in life: wisdom comes from a
place that he does not expect. When prince Humperdinck kills Wesley, the
boy makes the grandfather stop reading, loudly announcing how unfair the
situation is. The story, which has already persuaded him about the rightness
of Buttercup and Wesleys love, makes him cry out against the wrong of their
separation. He grasps the moral of the story. Love really should prevailits
fair and right. The boys grandfather further opens his eyes to truth. He asks
his grandson, Well who says life is fair? Where is that written? Life isnt
always fair. So the boy learns two sides of a moral: while true love will
always triumph in its own waywhether through life or through deathlife is
not always fair, which is a more complex truth to understand. Interestingly,
the grandfathers statement rings eerily familiar to what the Dread Pirate
Roberts [Wesley] said to Buttercup: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says
differently is selling something. Though this was said in the bitter grief of

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believing that Buttercup no longer loved him, it seems that this taught the
grandfather a lesson (undoubtedly coupled with his real life experiences),
which he then relayed to his grandson.
Unexpected wisdom also comes from Inigo Montoya and Fezzik, the
bumbling wise men. Before Inigo sword fights with the man in black, Fezzik
warns him, saying, People in masks are not to be trusted. Even though the
person Fezzik is referring to [Wesley] is a good person, his words about his
being the Dread Pirate Robert are not to be trusted, as they mask the truth
about his other identity to Buttercup. Also, on a metaphysical level, Prince
Humperdinck wears a heavy mask of his own, pretending to love Buttercup,
but underhandedly planning to murder her on their wedding night for
political advantage. (As added proof, he was the one who hired Vizzini to
kidnap her, and repeatedly makes loud threats about getting revenge on
Gilder). Though Fezzik could not have known about this, his humorous
warning plays true in both of these circumstances; he reveals wisdom
beyond his own understanding. The bumbling wise man strikes a cord in the
fictive world and with the real audience watching him. Inigo furthers strikes
this cord by seeking Miracle Max to do what he knows neither he nor Fezzik
can dobring Wesley back to life. He seeks to buy a miracle. In this sense,
wisdom is characterized as knowing ones own limitations.
Finally, both Inigo and Wesley show that determination reaps benefits.
Inigo plainly tells Wesley that [he] dedicated [his] life to the study of
fencing in order to avenge his fathers death by Count Rugen. He even

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exhibits a confidence in his determination, stating, next time, I will not fail. I
will go up the six-fingered man [Count Rugen] and say, hello, my name is
Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; prepare to die. True to his
determination, he does exactly thisline for line. Count Rugen dies with the
full knowledge that it was done in recompense of his past sin. And Inigo is
satisfied that his lifes work is complete. Wesley has a similar determination.
He dedicates his life to loving Buttercup; and it is a dedication that not even
death can stop (as mentioned above).
At the end of the movie, all of these lessons work their way into the
real world as well as the fictional. While the viewer knows that it is
impossible for the grandfather to be Wesley, his ending line of as you wish
leaves them in doubt, and clinches the realms of fiction and reality. It tells
the viewer that there are Wesleys in the world. True love can overcome
anything, then. Wisdom really does come in unlikely places. And lastly,
determination must reap actual benefits. And, as if this were not enough,
Mark Knopfler serenades the audience over the ending credits, singing: my
love is like a storybook story, but its as real as the feelings I feel. The movie
conveys the overall message that the circumstances in the story may be of
fictional concoction, but the sentiments are very real. This makes the story
believable. This makes the storyand the morals thereineffective.
In conclusion, The Princess Bride makes lessons of love, wisdom, and
determination come alive for the viewer. Wesley and Buttercup teach the
viewers about true loves triumph, though there may be bumps in the

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journey. Inigo and Fezzik show that wisdom can come from the unlikely; the
boys appreciation of the book also shows this. And lastly, Inigo and Wesley
show that determination is worth the hard work since it leads to achieving
goals.