The Princess Bride

by

William Goldman

S. Morgenstern Character Analysis

The fictional Florinese author who, right after World War One, published his self-proclaimed classic The Princess Bride. Goldman says in the introduction to The Princess Bride (i.e. the real-life novel that Goldman wrote) that the original version is about 1000 pages long and though it includes the tale of Westley and Buttercup, more than two-thirds of the tome concerns itself with satirizing Florinese court life; according to Florinese scholars quoted by Goldman, it is a groundbreaking text in terms of understanding Florinese culture. Goldman also notes that Morgenstern's masterpiece wasn't well read outside of Florin, though he became very rich after publishing The Princess Bride. Buttercup's Baby is Morgenstern's (fictional) follow-up to The Princess Bride but was published late in his career. Morgenstern used Buttercup's Baby mostly as a vehicle to advocate for forest conservation.

S. Morgenstern Quotes in The Princess Bride

The The Princess Bride quotes below are all either spoken by S. Morgenstern or refer to S. Morgenstern. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fact vs. Fiction  Theme Icon
).
Prologue Quotes

The more I flipped on, the more I knew: Morgenstern wasn't writing any children's book; he was writing a kind of satiric history of his country and the decline of the monarchy in Western civilization.

But my father only read me the action stuff, the good parts. He never bothered with the serious side at all.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), Goldman's Father, Jason, S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:

I know I don't expect this to change anybody else's life the way it altered mine.

[...]

Anyway, here's the “good parts” version. S. Morgenstern wrote it. And my father read it to me. And now I give it to you. What you do with it will be of more than passing interest to us all.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), Goldman's Father, S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1 Quotes

Either Morgenstern meant them seriously or he didn't. Or maybe he meant some of them seriously and some others he didn't. But he never said which were the seriously ones. Or maybe it was just the author's way of telling the reader stylistically that 'this isn't real; it never happened.' That's what I think, in spite of the fact that if you read back into Florinese history, it did happen. The facts, anyway; no one can say about the actual motivations. All I can suggest to you is, if the parentheses bug you, don't read them.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

When this version comes out, I expect every Florinese scholar alive to slaughter me. (Columbia University has not only the leading Florinese experts in America, but also direct ties to the New York Times Book Review. I can't help that, and I only hope they understand my intentions here are in no way meant to be destructive of Morgenstern's vision.)

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

If you're going to abridge a book in the author's own words, you can't go around sticking your own in. That was Hiram's point, and we really went round and round [...] But I got Hiram to agree that Harcourt would at least print up my scene [...] So please, if you have the least interest at all or even if you don't, write in for my reunion scene. You don't have to read it—I'm not asking that—but I would love to cost these publishing geniuses a few dollars, because, let's face it, they're not spending much on advertising my books.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), Westley/Farm Boy/The Man in Black, Buttercup, S. Morgenstern, Hiram Haydn
Page Number: 195-96
Explanation and Analysis:
Buttercup’s Baby: An Explanation Quotes

I felt all this, exciting and moving as a lot of it is, to be off the spine of the story. I went with true love and high adventure and I think I was right to do that. And I think the results have proved that. Morgenstern never had any audience for his book—except in Florin, of course. I brought it to people everywhere and, with the movie, to a wider audience still. So, sure, I abridged it.

But, I'm sorry, I shaped it. I also brought it to life. I don't know what you want to call that, but whatever I did, it's sure something.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 371
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Princess Bride PDF

S. Morgenstern Quotes in The Princess Bride

The The Princess Bride quotes below are all either spoken by S. Morgenstern or refer to S. Morgenstern. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fact vs. Fiction  Theme Icon
).
Prologue Quotes

The more I flipped on, the more I knew: Morgenstern wasn't writing any children's book; he was writing a kind of satiric history of his country and the decline of the monarchy in Western civilization.

But my father only read me the action stuff, the good parts. He never bothered with the serious side at all.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), Goldman's Father, Jason, S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:

I know I don't expect this to change anybody else's life the way it altered mine.

[...]

Anyway, here's the “good parts” version. S. Morgenstern wrote it. And my father read it to me. And now I give it to you. What you do with it will be of more than passing interest to us all.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), Goldman's Father, S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1 Quotes

Either Morgenstern meant them seriously or he didn't. Or maybe he meant some of them seriously and some others he didn't. But he never said which were the seriously ones. Or maybe it was just the author's way of telling the reader stylistically that 'this isn't real; it never happened.' That's what I think, in spite of the fact that if you read back into Florinese history, it did happen. The facts, anyway; no one can say about the actual motivations. All I can suggest to you is, if the parentheses bug you, don't read them.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

When this version comes out, I expect every Florinese scholar alive to slaughter me. (Columbia University has not only the leading Florinese experts in America, but also direct ties to the New York Times Book Review. I can't help that, and I only hope they understand my intentions here are in no way meant to be destructive of Morgenstern's vision.)

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

If you're going to abridge a book in the author's own words, you can't go around sticking your own in. That was Hiram's point, and we really went round and round [...] But I got Hiram to agree that Harcourt would at least print up my scene [...] So please, if you have the least interest at all or even if you don't, write in for my reunion scene. You don't have to read it—I'm not asking that—but I would love to cost these publishing geniuses a few dollars, because, let's face it, they're not spending much on advertising my books.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), Westley/Farm Boy/The Man in Black, Buttercup, S. Morgenstern, Hiram Haydn
Page Number: 195-96
Explanation and Analysis:
Buttercup’s Baby: An Explanation Quotes

I felt all this, exciting and moving as a lot of it is, to be off the spine of the story. I went with true love and high adventure and I think I was right to do that. And I think the results have proved that. Morgenstern never had any audience for his book—except in Florin, of course. I brought it to people everywhere and, with the movie, to a wider audience still. So, sure, I abridged it.

But, I'm sorry, I shaped it. I also brought it to life. I don't know what you want to call that, but whatever I did, it's sure something.

Related Characters: William Goldman (speaker), S. Morgenstern
Page Number: 371
Explanation and Analysis: