Yes, It’s Princess Bride time again.
This has been stuck in my craw all morning.
So, Wesley takes off to find his fortune. He returns as The Dread Pirate Roberts. He and Buttercup reunite, and all is well.
Eh?
Seems to me that she’s a trifle unconcerned, upon finding out his new identity, that his fortune has been found via multiple high-seas murders. The Dread Pirate Roberts never takes prisoners, of course.
Don’t mind me, I’ve been goofy lately 
Ahh… But you have to take into consideration the fact that Wesley only took over the position as the Dread Pirate Roberts. He himself didn’t have to necessarily murder anyone once he took the position.
Not at all. I mean, her other love interest happened to be an evil overlord.
I’d have been much more miffed if I were Wesley. I mean, here I am, confident that we had a deal going, go off for five years or so, come back and find out my main squeeze is about to run off with somebody else? And then she PUSHES ME DOWN A HILL?! WTF? :rolleyes:
Hmmm, Princess Bride…::wanders off looking for video rental card::
The book went much further into the explanation. Westley’s ship was taken by the Dread Pirate Roberts, and since DPR takes no prisoners, she had thought Westley dead for these years. Discovering her beloved is still alive was quite a shock. She had thought DPR was simply kidnapping her for the other side, and she was essentially dead, because DPR takes no prisonors. The push down the hill was before she knew it was Wesley. If you enjoy the movie, I heartily suggest you find a copy of the book.
I always thought that she was so caught up in seeing Wesley again, and escaping from Humperdink, that she didn’t really have time to go into it all. But I’m sure there was more than one conversation about it later.
When did he murder anyone?
And hey, go figure . . . the love of your life returns, having been thought dead. You gonna trifle over details like if s/he killed anyone in the process of escaping?
When did he murder anyone?
He’s the Dread Pirate Roberts, for God’s sake, not The Pizza Delivery Guy Roberts. Pirates raid ships. Then, in our case, they kill all the people. Usually. Unless they can impress Roberts with tales of true love.
Hey, now…
Buttercup’s the LAST one to forgive anyone. I mean, Blossom and Bubbles might go easy on Mojo Jojo or the Gang-greens once the point has been made. But Buttercup? She don’ let up 'til they’re all DOWN & OUT.
What? Oh-oh… ::Tygr gets whacked with a brick::
[sub]ouch… Alright, alright. geez…[/sub]
Actually, now that I think of it, I’m wondering if Wesley/DPR
[sub](hey, does dpr know his initials were in a movie? ::Tygr spies someone hefting a brick and decides to hurry and get to his point::[/sub]
…wondering if the whole “never takes prisoners” was just a serious bit of made-up propaganda. Y’know, designed to make it easier to demand ships surrender.
Kinda like how Columbo put up that “bumbling doofus” facade.
(After previewing it hits me) Hey, wait! What do these two references have in common?
Maybe he just kills them until they are mostly dead.
Well, come on now. Any Princess Bride fan (hey! Maybe THAT’s what PB really stands for!) worth their terribly comfortable mask knows that Peter Falk played Grandpa.
Ahh, it’s lovely to know I’ve found a community that revels in the Princess Bride as much as I do.
And yes, I personally believe that Buttercup was too forgiving. I’m just jaded, though.
Ginger
I always thought The Man In Black was way too forgiving to Buttercup. Here he is all pissed that she went off and got engaged, she pushes him down a hill and suddenly all is right with the world? I dunno. I guess it’s all a love-conquers all sort of thing. Or perhaps, just perhaps, a fairy tale. 
I think her attitude revolves more around him thinking him dead and suddenly rediscovering her true love is alive (and then he comes back from the dead a second time even).
However, once the honeymoon is over she may have time to consider it and soon it could be back to a frosty “farmboy fetch me that pitcher!” And the first arugument they have? Well, how long before she brings up “Well at least I didn’t run around the high seas killing people!!!”
And what about when she accuses him of ravishing other women (cos that’s what pirates do)? Even though our Westley/dpr would never do such a thing (enduring faithfulness is a two way street especially with our boy).
A cynic would suggest that fary tales are romantic because they finish before domesticity and reality sets in.
Me however, I believe they lived and loved happily ever after secure in the knowledge that their love for each other was the only thing to focus on.
Well, first off, in the book, the DPR that made Wesley the DPR pretty much stated that once people found out who he was, they pretty much gave up their loot and all went on their merry way.
Secondly, considering the fact that Wesley slaps Buttercup, I’d say that for that reason alone she should be pissed once she found out who it was. Too forgiving? YES!
Thirdly: For all she knew, this was the man that killed her love. Pushing him down the hill would be nothing compared to what I’d want to do.
Well, we shall see, possibly…I’ve heard rumor of a sequel, entitled Buttercup’s Baby. I’ve even seen the first couple chapters of it included with a recent rerelease of the book…
But of course she knows he’s not THE Dread Pirate Roberts, as she’d known Wesley before, when there already was a Dread Pirate Roberts. Therefore, Wesley had not necessarily killed anyone himself.
Do you think she should be unforgiving because his fortune was inherited from someone who might have committed multiple high-sea murders?
You will NOT stiff The Pizza Delivery Guy Roberts on his tip!
I have that edition! The sequel is…well, darker, for one thing, and it never made it into any sort of organized form. (It ends at a frustrating place, too.)
Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is the fact that, while undeniably pretty, Buttercup never was the brightest.
God, what a great book. You know, over on Amazon.com, if you look through the reader’s reviews of The Princess Bride, you’ll find several brilliant individuals who believe there really was an F. Morgenstern! One of the reviewers even insists that he or she actually read the original book – before it was incompetently adapted by that hack William Goldman, of course. Another reviewer laments that the popularity of Goldman’s inferior adaptation has made it impossible to find an original copy of Morgenstern’s masterpiece.
Sheesh! While she’s an absolute hands-down winner in the “most beautiful girl in the world” contest, our Buttercup clearly has plenty of competition for “stupidest person in the world.”
I think the answer to this question must be found in the reunion scene.
What is the reunion scene? you ask.
Well, it seems that when Morgenstern wrote the book his wife complained because there was no reunion scene between Westley and Buttercup.
William Goldman agreed with Morgenstern’s wife and wrote a reunion scene. But his publisher felt it was unfair to ADD something to the book. Goldman was only supposed to be abridging it.
So the publisher agreed to print the scene separately. Anyone who wrote them would be mailed a copy of the reunion scene.
Now, through the miracle of modern technology, the reunion scene can be mailed to you online! Just go to this site:
http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/promo/princessbride/reunionscene/
Obviously the reunion scene would include Buttercup’s questions about Westley’s life as the Dread Pirate Roberts.
(Really, visit this site. It’s hilarious. If you read the book the same offer is made. And believe it or not, if you write them, they will snail mail you the “reunion scene.” Although it’s not what you think…)