William Goldman's Buttercup Quotes

In the novel by William Goldman, the character Buttercup is a 17 year old girl who comes off naive, rude, arrogant and rather clueless to other’s feelings or intentions towards her. For example she is rude to the farm boy, Westley in the beginning. Buttercup does not know that she has offended other girls in her village because the boys have noticed her beauty that she clearly does not see. However, despite her flaws, she is rather charming. She is a tomboy by heart and only cares to ride horses all day long and boss around Westley. She is naïve in the sense that she does not understand how someone could care if she were the most beautiful woman in the world or not. What difference could it have made if you were only the third most beautiful.
Or the sixth? This is Buttercup, coming of age. In the movie however, there is no mention of how Buttercup perceives herself or the poor treatment of others. What is interesting is how in the novel how Buttercup makes a realization her feelings or rather love for Westley.
It is as almost as though she has an ephinanpy of some sort about her love for Westley. After seeing Westley with the Countess, she suddenly realizes she only wants Westley as her own. She is willing to do anything to make Westley happy. A reverse affect from how she first treated him. Buttercup seems to not understand true love, whereas Westley seems to truly love her. Throughout the novel, Buttercup first didn’t love Westley. After she professed her love, he went off to make a life in America and promised to return for her. However learning of his death, she agreed to marry Prince Humperdink despite losing the love of her
life. When someone is in love, shouldn’t it be a risk, a whole hearted descion to make a choice to be with someone. Shouldn’t the mere thought of being with anyone else soon after a death, especially if it was the love of your life, your one true love be no room for another love? At least not a true love, having it once in a lifetime? True love is something to die for, to fight for, which is what Westley displayed. It was only towards the middle end that Buttercup realizes she must fight for Westley or should we rather die than be without him. Westley seems to truly love Buttercup, the way true love should be.
He loved her before she was beautiful, before she was in the top twenty of beautiful. He loved her despite how she treated him; he loved her just as she was. When he said he would return for her, he kept his promise. Westley first returns as a mysterious man in black. He has learned Buttercup has been promised to marry Prince Humperdink and later becomes the hero. Another quality Westley has that proves his love for Buttercup is when Buttercup goes with Prince Humperdink after they make it out of the swamp. She says she can live without love and leaves Westley. Despite of Westley coming back for her, rescuing her from her kidnappers and saving her through a swamp, she easily gives him up. Despite of all of that, Westley is killed and brought back to life, only to come back for her once
more. An error in the novel was once Westley has died, he was brought back to life. In the novel, the magical treatment would wear off after a few hrs or minutes, so did he die again? In the movie it doesn’t say it wears off, only that it takes a while to regain. In the end they run off happily ever after, whereas in the novel, it is left with both of them still battling the Prince Humperdink that is in pursuit of them after they run off.