Character Analysis
Love the One You're With
When we first meet Westley and Buttercup, we only meet Westley and Buttercup. Unless you count the horses, cows, and chickens. (We don't, incidentally. If they're not in SAG, they can't be that important.)
Buttercup and Westley fall for one another, but…of course they do. There isn't anyone else around. No parents, no kindly neighbors, not even a postman who stops by once a day to wave and give a friendly "hi-di-ho!" It's just him and her, her and him, alone on a farm. You don't have to be Nostradamus to predict what's going to happen in that scenario.
Does that make Westley and Buttercup's love any less pure, or their story any less moving?
Not really.
Because The Princess Bride is a fairytale, it can get away with some stuff that most movies can't. If there's a shortage of characters, or if things fit a little too neatly into boxes, or if all the loose ends get tied up too cleanly…well, that's okay. It's the nature of fairytales to simplify and exaggerate its characters' circumstances.
For example, when reading the story of Rapunzel, we don't really worry about what awful sort of scalp condition she might be developing because of all that tugging and climbing. And we don't question why Little Red Riding Hood was oblivious to the fact that her grandmother was badly in need of a shave. In fairytales, we're asked to overlook such real-world concerns, suspend our disbelief, and focus more on the major events and driving emotions than on the minutiae of the people's lives.
So when Buttercup and Westley become loopy in love, their relative isolation makes the beauty of their romance all the more pronounced. There are no minor characters to get in the way, no one to complicate their perfect courtship.
Not until Westley returns from sea, of course. Then there are more minor characters filling up the screen than you can shake a sword at.
Her Frog Prince
What little girl doesn't dream of becoming a princess? You know, other than the ones who are raised by parents that instill in them a sense of self-worth? But like, how many of those could there be?
And so, when Buttercup, a lowly country girl, is given the chance to marry a prince and become a princess, she should be practically leaping out of her corset with joy. (Hopefully not until the wedding night.) But, unlike just about every other fairytale, this is one princess who could take or leave that silver tiara they keep trying to get her to wear.
The reason is clear. Buttercup is down-to-earth, not someone who is easily swayed by shallow concerns like money, power, and unearned respect. Besides, she's met and lost her true love. After imagining her life with Westley and then having to face the cruel prospect of a future married to someone 1/10 as handsome, 1/10 as charming, and 10 times as nasty, it's no wonder she's feeling a bit tentative about her upcoming wedding plans.
She's probably not watching a lot of Say Yes to the Dress, we'll just put it that way.
But let's not assume that Buttercup's dislike of Humperdinck, and of princessdom in general, were accidental. It really feels to us like Goldman, the writer, was trying to say something substantial with Buttercup's attitude toward the whole affair.
Goldman wrote the source material for his two daughters, and since he was a smart man himself, he probably wanted them to grow up to be strong-minded, independent thinkers. This was his chance to create a character who set a good example by believing in real, tangible things. A positive role model who believed that love (rather than a thirst for power or pretty dresses), and staying true to oneself, could conquer all.
Or that, at the very least, you should do whatever you can to avoid marrying someone who exhibits a near-constant sneer.
That's never a good sign.
She of the Short Memory
When Westley is pronounced dead, Buttercup believes the reports and resigns herself to a life of misery. But when Westley suddenly reappears in her life, proving her fears to be unfounded, she totally learns her lesson—she will never doubt him again.
Right?
It certainly seems as if she's got a different mindset. At one point she even says, "I will never doubt again." Fairly clear-cut. And then, as her wedding approaches, she still appears to be confident in her boy toy's return, saying, "My Westley will always come for me," and, later, "He will come for me."
And then, the wedding. Humperdinck hurries the minister through the proceedings, then grabs Buttercup by the arm and escorts her into the hallway. And suddenly it's right back to doubt and despair for the Princess. She's suddenly so sure that Westley is out of the picture that she's ready to drive a dagger through her heart. If you ask us, someone needs to save the drama for their mama.
As it turns out, Buttercup and Humperdinck were never actually married since she never said "I do." But even if she had, should it really have mattered that much? Couldn't her love still have shown up a day late and a dollar short, and whisked her away from the castle anyway?
Well, keep in mind that this story was taking place in a time very different than our own. You couldn't just hop down to your corner County Clerk's office and get yourself a quickie divorce. In the land of Florin, it seems, once you're hitched, you're hitched. So even though Buttercup felt about as much love for her betrothed as she did for the shrieking eels, it's possible she would sooner die than consider splitting on her hubby.
Even still though, we have a feeling Westley would have found a way to talk her into it even if she had uttered the binding words. He's very persuasive.
Buttercup's Timeline