For years, I have adored The Princess Bride, written by S. Morgenstern and abridged by William Goldman. The classic tale of high adventure, swash-buckling pirates, and true love captured my heart as a young girl. The tale appealed to my sense of wonder and my dream of one day meeting my Westley; someone to love me with undying devotion, kindness, and protection. A Prince Charming of sorts. Now I see that I, no longer the daydreaming young girl, was longing not for a husband but Christ himself.
As I got older and grew in my Catholic faith, my repeated viewings of the story brought something new to the surface: the idea that Westley, the dedicated farm boy who selflessly leaves, returns to, and saves Princess Buttercup, is a Christ-like character. Perhaps Christ wouldn’t respond with “as you wish,” to each of our human desires, but His desire for our wellbeing and happiness is the same.
Like Christ, Westley is unendingly selfless. He leaves his entire life to seek fortune to provide for Buttercup and returns to courageously fight through danger, toil, even torture to save her life. Before his initial departure, Buttercup fearfully ponders aloud the dangers that may befall Westley. In response, Westley says, “Hear this now: I will always come for you.” Jesus always comes to us in our brightest and darkest hours, there to shoulder our burden. As written in Matthew 11:29-30, Christ instructs us to “take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
While being tortured, the sounds of Westley’s screams cause Inigo to remark, “that is the sound of ultimate suffering.” Westley, like Christ, goes to the point of death for the sake of his beloved, like Christ willingly died for each of us. While Westley remained only mostly dead, his heroic return to Buttercup’s side provokes the pondering of Christ’s resurrection. Christ and Westley both return from death and mostly death, respectively, for the same valiant reason: true, redeeming love.
If you’re like me, you may often return to this great tale of high adventure, princesses in distress, and inconceivable twists and turns. When you do, I encourage you to view the story in a new light: just as Westley selflessly and courageously pursues Buttercup, Christ pursues us. But, being that Westley is only human, Christ’s desire and thirst for us is infinitely more immaculate, loving, and generous than Westley’s could ever be.