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
1. Fezzik. Fezzik chases the madman up the mountain. The madman has Waverly, Buttercup's daughter, and Fezzik isn't doing well because he's is having a hard time climbing up the rocky mountain. He's also terrified of falling, even though nobody ever considers that someone as big and strong as Fezzik could have feelings or fears. Fezzik knows, however, that he has to save Waverly. The madman kicks rocks down at Fezzik and Fezzik finds himself hanging by his fingers from some rocks. He realizes that he can scale the mountain using his arms and suddenly, he's flying up the mountain and reaches the top.
When Fezzik mentions that nobody thinks that he's capable of having feelings, it shows that even though time has passed since the end of The Princess Bride, Fezzik is still on his journey to learn to trust himself and portray himself in a way that shows others how he wants to be treated. When he does learn how he can make it to the top effectively, it does suggest that he's making progress and can now think better in the moment.
Themes
Fezzik is fast enough to get to the top of the mountain and put himself in front of the madman. He demands that the madman hand over Waverly and ignores the madman's threats of using magic. As the madman starts to hand Waverly over, he throws the baby over the cliff. Her eyes snap open and see Fezzik, and she says “Shade.” Fezzik dives over the cliff after her.
Fezzik's split-second decision to jump off the cliff after Waverly tells the reader that in the time that's passed, he's formed a powerful bond with this child. This shows that he's beginning to expand his community with the skills he learned before.
Themes
Goldman interrupts and says that while he'll give it to Morgenstern that this opener is “a grabber,” he objects to calling chapter one “Fezzik Dies.” He doesn't think that Morgenstern can or should kill Fezzik straight off, but because this is an abridgement, Goldman couldn't change it. Goldman says that he couldn't decide whether to include the next passage and fought with his publisher about it. The publisher doesn't think it makes sense, but Goldman tells the reader to read it and then he'll explain why he left it in.
When Goldman says that he can't change Morgenstern's story because this is an abridgement, it suggests that he's still chafing under the constraints that his publisher put on him from when he abridged The Princess Bride. This also suggests that if given his way, Goldman would've given the reader something entirely different here—in other words, when it doesn't make sense, don't blame Goldman.
Themes
