“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You murdered my father. Prepare to die.”
As a loving parody of fantasy, The Princess Bride has become a cultural icon. This movie elevated the story to popular culture status. The film made Westley the hero, saving Princess Buttercup from Prince Humperdinck. Is Westley really the hero in this movie? This question has many interesting parallels to another culturally-significant movie. It points to the fact that the movie is about Buttercup’s love for Westley, but Inigo Montoya who is the true hero is this movie. Inigo will do whatever it takes to win his father’s favor. This claim can be supported by looking at Westley’s traits. Westley is the protagonist and lead character of the story. His shrewdness, intelligence, and wit give him a almost godlike status. He is a better bladesman than Inigo and a better fighter against the giant Fezzik. Vizzini is smarter than him. While Westley’s skill allows him to play the heroic role, the movie shows him as a mystery force, someone who may be less than perfect. The Princess Bride shows Westley as a young boy’s attraction. He is smart, clever, and sometimes chaotic. Westley, a rugged and world-weary man, is in love to a dreamgirl. The movie’s main character, Westley, is a genre-switched Han Solo. This makes Westley’s role even more obvious. Both men dance dangerously close into the illegality realm, but they are both suave characters. Han Solo plays the Dread Pirate, Westley is Han Solo. Both men are highly competent at what they do, and are quite cruel to their loved ones throughout the film. Westley is an important character in this movie. However, fantasy heroes are not always easy to find. Inigo Montoya may not be an idealized character in this story. However, Inigo’s quest to revenge fulfills more requirements of a traditional fantasy hero that Westley’s search for his lost love.
Inigo’s dad was killed by a sixfingered man who refused to purchase a fancy blade. Inigo, an abandoned child, was raised to fight the six-fingered man. The evil Count Rugen has dedicated his life studying torture. Inigo Montoya and Rugen are now beginning to form a subplot that leads to a fantasy story. The main plot is not this battle, but it is the climactic one. This battle is between Inigo and Count Rugen. Inigo’s nearly superhuman desire to vengeance is shown in the battle, where he manages multiple stab wounds and defeats Rugen. Westley, who was rendered physically immobile earlier in the novel by Rugen, decides to outthink Prince Humperdinck. This somewhat deprives the movie’s audience of the conflict it has created. In this sense Inigo becomes the hero and has his means of vengeance. Westley instead is presented as a pragmatist who believes that Westley’s inability to be injured is outweighed by his cowardice. This is a smart solution to the problem, but it doesn’t add the same drama tension as Inigo and Rugen.
One way to examine the differences between Inigo (Westley) and Inigo’s heroism would be to consider their impact on the everyday person. Both are faced with equally evil individuals throughout the story. Yet, only one is defeated. Inigo defeats Count Rugen and rids the world from a man who has a tendency to torture innocent people. This is an admirable goal. Westley did not want to lose his love for his family, but this is a noble goal. Humperdinck is not killed or seriously injures by Westley. He just leaves Humperdinck chained to a chair, which someone else will find. The princess escapes with him. Humperdinck initially planned to kill Princess Buttercup. Guilder was then implicated in the whole ordeal. It is interesting that the princess, who had been taken and likely killed during a siege on his marriage night, actually works in his favor. Westley seems to have no concern for those who are affected by Prince Humperdinck’s rule or the consequences of the war he may have caused on innocent people. He’s content to be happy and retire rich with the people he loves.
This may seem like a happy ending but it’s not heroic.
While Westley is a lovable character and his fictionalized form is surely the prototype for charismatic, loveable characters like Han Solos, his actions in the movie make it clear that he has only one goal and is not worthy of being an archetypal fantasy heroine. Inigo, however overcomes adversity while on a mission for revenge, helps Westley find his love, and triumphs over his flaws of alcoholism.
