Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Princess Bride, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fact vs. Fiction
The Value of Cleverness and Humility
Love, Loyalty, and Friendship
Authorship and Storytelling
Fairytales and Growing Up
Summary
Analysis
Goldman explains that he only abridged the first chapter of Buttercup's Baby, Morgenstern’s sequel to The Princess Bride, because he wasn't allowed to do more. He reminds the reader of the reunion scene and how he encouraged readers to write to the publisher requesting it. However, nobody ever received the reunion scene Instead, they got a letter detailing Goldman's dealings with Kermit Shog, a sweaty lawyer who represents the Morgenstern estate. Kermit Shog wanted Goldman's publisher to republish the unabridged Princess Bride, as well as money. The lawsuits piled up but fortunately, Morgenstern's copyright ran out in 1978, at which point Goldman planned on sending out the reunion scene. However, in Florin, the copyright doesn't run out until 1987 and to make matters worse, Kermit Shog died and his son, Mandrake Shog, is now in charge of the lawsuits.
Goldman's dealings with the Morgenstern estate reminds the reader that even the publishing world is governed by forces beyond its control—in this case, it's governed by the legal world, where there's even more money. Notably, Goldman suggests that both the publishing world as well as the Morgenstern estate want to deprive readers of the reunion scene—something that Goldman insists readers deserve—for their own gain, again suggesting that they don't care about facilitating compelling storytelling.
Themes
Goldman says that at the time, he had no interest in reading Buttercup's Baby. He says that he was busy writing his own novels and feels especially proud of what he did with The Princess Bride. Goldman explains that he got Morgenstern's original down to 300 pages from 1000, and cut out lots of material about Westley's terrible childhood and how King Lotharon went to Miracle Max after Humperdinck's birth, as he knew Humperdinck was a monster and wanted Max to change that. This is why Max was fired; he failed. Goldman says that he went with the “high adventure” parts of the story, which brought the book to a wider audience, shaped the story, and brought it to life.
The way that Goldman conceptualizes his role as an abridger indicates that he sees himself as an advocate for reading, for the readers themselves, and specifically, for a story that he insists is more enjoyable and accessible than Morgenstern's original. Specifically, by crafting a story that focuses on “high adventure,” Goldman creates a tale that's appealing specifically to young people.—By drawing them in, he's able to help bring up the next generation of readers.
Themes
To explain why Goldman wasn't interested in reading Buttercup's Baby, he goes back in time to when his son Jason is fifteen. One night, Goldman gets home late and hears Jason sobbing in his room. He goes in and Jason sobs that because he's overweight, he has no friends, and girls laugh at him. Goldman tells Jason that he loves him, and this becomes the turning point in their relationship.
When Goldman finally embraces Jason and meets him where he is, it shows that now, he's in a place where he can channel Fezzik and be a loving and caring father to his son. This offers an example of how readers can use what they learn in stories like this to apply to their own lives.
Themes
The next day, Goldman and Jason walk past a bookstore and see a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a window. Goldman tells the reader that at that point Schwarzenegger wanted to play Fezzik but 20 years later, he was too big of a star for them to afford. Goldman then tells Jason that Schwarzenegger used to be pudgy. He doesn't think it's true, but he says it anyway. Goldman tells the reader that Schwarzenegger and Andre the Giant were friends and relates an anecdote about Andre's sense of humor that he included in Andre's obituary. Goldman buys Jason the poster and in the next two years, Jason loses weight and becomes handsome. Jason goes on to become a sex therapist, marries a woman named Peggy, and they have a son. They name him William Arnold, “Willy,” after Goldman.
As with the other questionably truthful stories that characters tell throughout The Princess Bride, it doesn't matter much whether this story about Schwarzenegger is true or not. The important thing is that the story is compelling and makes an impact on Jason. It's especially telling that, because of these turning points, Jason and Peggy go on to name their son after Goldman. This allows them to show him unequivocally that they care about him and want him to feel loved and respected, something that could only happen once Goldman decided to show the same respect to Jason.
Themes
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Goldman takes being a grandfather very seriously. One day, when Willy is about seven, he, Jason, and Peggy are walking through the park. Jason and Peggy tell Goldman that they've just finished reading The Princess Bride out loud to Willy, and Willy was upset the book ended. Willy asks Goldman to read him the sequel. Goldman says he won't do it, goes home, and gets drunk. He wakes up before dawn from a dream of having pneumonia and Helen reading Buttercup's Baby. Goldman knows then that Morgenstern is going to save him once again and making him a real writer. He explains his process of writing Marathon Man from scratch and says he isn't ready for that kind of a commitment, but abridging Buttercup's Baby will be a steppingstone to turn him into a novelist again.
When Goldman explains how he fits The Princess Bride into the way he thinks about his life's work, it reminds the reader how important this story is to him. It allowed him to connect to his father as a child, and it allowed him to connect to his own child as a father. Because of this, Goldman sees that taking the next step—Buttercup's Baby—will be another opportunity for him to affirm his connection to his family, as well as reaffirm the power of making stories like these accessible to the masses.
Themes
Later that morning, Goldman calls Charley and asks if the Morgenstern estate would let him abridge Buttercup's Baby. Amazingly, Charley explains that a young lawyer from the Shog firm just called and wants to settle the lawsuits. Goldman meets Karloff “Carly” Shog the next morning for breakfast. She's a gorgeous blond. She explains that she's just moved to America and takes Goldman's hand. Carly admits she's read all of Goldman's books, says she likes older men, and gives Goldman a legal document to look over and sign. She explains that it basically says that Goldman wishes them the best on future projects.
Because Goldman is so caught up in his desire to abridge Buttercup's Baby, he's missing the signs that there's more to this than the Shogs finally being ready to let him take on this project. This aligns this moment with ones from The Princes Bride, as when Westley was too confident in his ability to best the Machine and therefore wasn't able to properly prepare for it.
Themes
Goldman says that he's so excited to abridge Buttercup's Baby and does wish them the best. Then, Carly says that Stephen King is going to abridge Buttercup's Baby. Goldman is lost for words. Carly goes on and says that King is genuinely excited to do the abridgement, regularly visits Florin, and believes that Goldman is too exhausted to take on the project. Goldman leaves and refuses to sign the documents.
Carly's attempts to sow discord between Goldman and Stephen King shows that she understands how to use the particulars of the publishing world to spin stories that allow her to get what she wants—assuming that Goldman will play along. Of course, recall that none of this is true; Morgenstern—and as such Buttercup’s Baby—don’t exist, and Stephen King, a real author was certainly not involved. This mixing of real world names with his story blurs the line between fact and fiction—and suggests that such a line isn’t all that important so long as a story is good.
Themes
The next morning, Goldman flies to Maine. He adapted Stephen King's novel Misery a few years ago and got to know him then. Goldman is prepared to level with King but surprisingly, as they sit down to lunch, King says that Carly lied and said that Goldman didn't want to do the abridgement and he feels like he's being forced into it. Goldman is silent, but follows King's lead as they discuss an actress from Misery who was recently in Titanic. King mentions that he loves the movie, and Goldman believes he's talking about Misery. King clarifies: he likes The Princess Bride movie, but doesn't like the novel.
Importantly, Goldman goes to visit Stephen King with the sole purpose of standing up for what he knows is best for Buttercup's Baby and what he knows will be a hit with fans. King’s comment that he didn’t like the book is a moment of comedic self-deprecation on Goldman’s part, and points to how the film, at this point in real-world history, had perhaps surpassed the popularity of its source material. Though this exact meeting of course never really happened (because, again, Morgenstern and Buttercup’s Baby are not real), Stephen King did write a hugely successful novel named Misery, which starred actress Kathy Bates—who, indeed, was also in the film version of the smash hit Titanic.
Themes
Goldman is defensive, but King insists that Goldman left out too much stuff. Goldman admits that he never went to Florin to research because he didn't think it was important, and King says that this is why he wants to do Buttercup's Baby. Mechanically, Goldman thanks King for his time and starts to leave. King offers to let Goldman write the screenplay, but Goldman tells him all about Goldman's father reading it to him, and getting it for Jason, and wanting to abridge Buttercup's Baby for Willy. Humiliated, Goldman gets a taxi to the airport to wait for his plane. King follows and tells Goldman that he's right; abridging Morgenstern is his thing. He tells Goldman to try the first chapter to include in the 25th anniversary edition of The Princess Bride.
Stephen King's advice suggests that as far as he's concerned, there's a specific way that someone should go about doing an abridgement. While he indicates that his ideas of how to abridge something fall more in line with those of the Florinese scholars that Goldman regularly dismisses, hearing it coming from someone that Goldman respects—a fellow writer—rather from his selfish publishing house makes it more palatable to hear.
Themes
King tells Goldman that he expects him to do it right this time and says that he'll send Goldman's abridged chapter to his friends and family in Florin. Goldman leaves for Florin immediately and visits all the sights: the Cliffs of Insanity, the Thieves Quarter, Buttercup's family farm. He even goes to One Tree Island in a helicopter to see where Waverly was born and lived happily until she was kidnapped.
With Stephen King's offer to send Goldman's chapter to his friends in Florin, he suggests that an abridger has the responsibility to properly convey the sense of place, and that the only effective way to do that is through extensive research. (Though, again, none of these places actually exist; Goldman is again blurring the line between reality and fantasy.)
Themes
