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
William Goldman addresses the reader and says that until very recently, he wouldn't have told anyone to buy the 30th anniversary edition of this book, as he was still caught up in legal issues with the Morgenstern estate and couldn't get Buttercup's Baby published. To explain what's changed, Goldman takes the reader back to 1986, when he was involved with shooting The Princess Bride movie. Goldman adored the time he spent with Andre, who played Fezzik. One evening, Andre asked Goldman his opinion on how he was playing Fezzik. Goldman had wanted Andre to play Fezzik since he first saw him on television years earlier, so he truthfully told Andre that he was doing great. As they chatted, Andre mentioned that he did a lot of research at the Morgenstern Museum.
First of all, it's important to note that while parts of Goldman's frame story are true, S. Morgenstern, the “author” of The Princess Bride, is an entirely fictional character. There's no Morgenstern estate and similarly, no Morgenstern Museum where Andre could've done this research. The way in which Goldman fictionalizes the frame story in his introductions and asides reminds the reader that all sorts of things are fictional, and importantly, that an author like Goldman doesn't owe the reader an entirely truthful story.
Themes
Goldman tells the reader that he never went to Florin and the Morgenstern Museum then; he goes years later while researching Buttercup's Baby, about the same time that Goldman's grandson, Willy, turns ten. In the weeks before Willy's birthday Goldman is excited to shower Willy with gifts, but Willy's parents, Jason and Peggy, have no ideas as to what to get him. Willy himself also claims to have no ideas. Goldman knows that Willy just doesn't want to say what he wants, so he whispers his wish in Goldman's ear. Months later, Goldman and Willy wake up in Florin to start the trip in commemoration of Willy's tenth birthday. Willy groans when he learns that the first stop will be the Morgenstern Museum, but he musters up excitement as they approach the building.
Goldman implies at several points that the way in which he arranges his stories in the introductions doesn't make logical sense. Here, it's important to note that Goldman's kind and generous behavior towards Willy is really only remarkable in light of the way that Goldman treated Jason when Jason was a kid (in short, horribly). This suggests that in the 20 or so years since Jason was a child, Goldman has undergone some sort of transformation that's turned him into a more compassionate person.
Themes
Willy stops dead when he sees the six-fingered sword in the entryway. He and Goldman inspect the sword with the other museum patrons and Goldman notices that all the children are mouthing Inigo's famous words. He thinks that Morgenstern would be thrilled. They look at a mold of Fezzik's fingers, Buttercup's wedding dress, and the Machine, and then they go to see the Curator. Stephen King wrote a letter to the Curator asking him to admit Goldman to the Sanctuary, which houses Morgenstern's letters and notes. Goldman and Willy find the Curator, who knows Stephen King but doesn't have a letter about Goldman. Goldman tells the reader that this is his worst nightmare; he's always afraid of being forgotten. Willy instructs his grandfather to call King on his new cellphone. Within minutes, the whole thing is resolved.
Again, all of this is fictional, though Stephen King and Goldman did know each other in real life. However, the fact that Goldman wants to research using primary source materials from Morgenstern suggests that there's a proper way to conduct research about prospective abridgement projects (remember, Goldman is getting around to talking about Buttercup's Baby, the sequel to The Princess Bride). Willy's helpfulness offers an example of how positive relationships can function, especially between family members of different generations.
Themes
As the Curator shows Goldman and Willy into the Sanctuary, he says that Goldman was once a wonderful writer. Willy yells at the Curator that Goldman is still a good writer, but Goldman calms him down. The two begin looking through the letters and photo albums, but then Willy says that Count Rugen killed Inigo. He reads out of a notebook labeled “The Princess Bride diary,” which contains Morgenstern's musings about how it would change the story if this were to happen. On the next page, Morgenstern decides that Inigo can't die. Willy remarks that Morgenstern nearly messed up his book.
Readers familiar with either the book or the movie will know that Inigo actually kills Count Rugen. By offering the reader insight into the author's decision-making process, even if it's only insight into the fictional Morgenstern's process, the novel begins to introduce the reader to the ways in which authors plan their works and decide how to tell their stories.
Themes
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Goldman is perturbed that Morgenstern considered changing history for the sake of his novel—the entire story is confirmed Florinese history. Willy reads a passage in which Morgenstern writes about how Shakespeare adapted Danish history to write Hamlet but kept the broad strokes and basic historical accuracy. Before long, it's lunchtime. They haven't found a Buttercup's Baby journal, and Willy encourages Goldman to not ask the Curator for help so he doesn't get insulted again. They head back to the hotel and as Willy wanders around the hotel suite, he inexplicably asks Goldman what he thinks of a giant talking bird saving Fezzik and Waverly at the end of the first chapter of Buttercup's Baby.
By suggesting that the story told in The Princess Bride is actual history, Goldman introduces another layer to the idea of abridgement and storytelling: the rules a writer must follow when writing what's essentially historical fiction. However, it's important to note that while Morgenstern invokes Hamlet, Hamlet is based on legend, not a verifiable historical figure—which reminds the reader again that authors aren't required to be truthful or faithful to their source material.
Themes
Goldman deems this absurd, but Willy darts away and comes back with a book labeled “Buttercup's Journal.” In it, Morgenstern writes that he's struggling to deal with the existence of a giant bird, even though he's seen the skeleton. Goldman is shocked that the notebook exists and flips through it. He addresses the reader and says that if the reader turns the page, they'll find the introduction to the 25th Anniversary edition, as well as his abridgement of The Princess Bride and a single abridged chapter of Buttercup's Baby. Goldman says that he doesn't make promises, but he plans to have Buttercup's Baby abridged before the 50th Anniversary edition comes out.
By addressing the reader directly and going on to be so involved in his “abridgement,” Goldman draws the reader in and makes them as much a part of the story as any of the characters that appear on the page. This allows Goldman to direct readers towards forming a personal relationship with him and with the story to come, possibly in the hope that then they'll choose to share the story with their loved ones and continue the cycle.
Themes
