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The American Hero's Perspective of Royalty as Portrayed by The Princess Bride

Overview:

The American hero is a roguish, intelligent, idealistic, stylish, hard-core citizen who is always victorious over his arch-nemesis. Every hero has one, that despicable being who wronged the hero, the sworn enemy. Inigo’s nemesis was Count Rugen. Westley’s was Prince Humperdinck. In both instances, we can see that royalty, in the eyes of the American hero, is nothing more than yet another obstacle to be conquered. 

Thesis:

Through satirical tendencies of The Princess Bride and “A Boxing Match or Another Bloody Nose for John Bull,” we can see that Americans view royalty as a thing of the past, outdated and tyrannical, stupid, gaudy, cowardly, and worthy of the title of “arch-enemy” to the American hero.

Artifact:

"A Boxing Match or Another Bloody Nose for John Bull" by William Charles

Lithograph, New York, 1813

The American Hero:

The American Hero is the opposite of the villain. 

Characteristics:

The hero is ambiguous, strong, intelligent, idealistic, and triumphant

Analysis:

Ambiguity is the major trait of the American hero. When the man in black is first mentioned, it is unclear what kind of character he is. He, later revealed to be Westley, wears black leather from his mask to his shoes, only his eyes visible. His eyes are described as “blackest of all…flashing and cruel and deadly” which may be viewed as characteristics of a villain (Goldman, 87). Black, however, does not refer to the literal color of his eyes – after all, Westley’s eyes are described as the sea before a storm, dark blue. Instead, the black refers to the intent behind his eyes, or possibly even the color of his soul. At least, this is what the reader is led to believe. Flashing indicates intelligence, possibly vindictive intelligence since it is followed directly by “cruel.” The fact that his eyes are described as deadly proves that just a glance from Westley is dangerous, and he is at least capable, perhaps even willing, to kill. He is not necessarily labeled as “good” the first time he appears. 

The Villainous Royal:

America despises royalty

Characteristics:

Royalty is gaudy, wasteful, outdated, cowardly, and stupid.

Analysis:

Prince Humperdinck proves himself to be exactly what he proclaims he is not: an enormous coward. When Humperdinck detains Westley, the hero and Buttercup’s true love, instead of returning him to his ship as he had promised, the horrible repercussions of his cowardice come into play. Buttercup calls the prince a coward to his face, and Humperdinck, dashing heir to the throne and the greatest hunter in the world, becomes deeply angered by her blatancy, so much so that he tortures and kills Westley with more pain than any man has ever known (Goldman, 247). The Machine is what kills him, yes, but in Humperdinck’s words, “think of this too: in all this world, you might have been happy, genuinely happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, not really, no matter what the storybooks say, but you could have had it, and so, I would think, no one will ever suffer a loss as great as you” (247) we can see that by the way he places emphasis on true happiness and the fact that Westley will forever be deprived of it that it is not the physical pain of dying that will torment Westley, but rather the knowledge that he will never have even the slightest chance of having a happy ending. The loss that he mentions is not Westley’s life; it is the loss of every hope and dream, of love, of everything which makes Westley human. 

Conclusion:

As a result of his unruly characteristics, Humperdinck foils Westley, highlighting his nobility, almost creating Westley into the swashbuckling hero we know him to be. Westley, in turn, lets him live. Perhaps royalty is the embodiment of those negative characteristics, but, as proven by Westley, perhaps we should not condemn it completely, instead allowing it to highlight us, the average farm boys, as heroes. 

Works Cited:

“John Bull and Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations, Introduction.” Loc.gov. n.d. Web. 19 April 2016.

Khazan, Olga. “Is the British Royal Family Worth the Money?” TheAtlantic. July 23, 2013. Web. 19 April 2016.  

Marston, Daniel. The American Revolution, 1774-1783. New York: Routledge, 2003. Electronic Resource.

Bartoloni-Tuazon, Kathleen. For Fear of an Elective King: George Washington and the Presidential Title Controversy of 1789. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2014. Electronic Resource.

Matz, Aaron. Satire in an Age of Realism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Electronic Resource.

“Introduction to 19^th-Century Fashion.” VictoriaandAlbertMuseum. 2016. Web. 23 April, 2016.