The Princess Bride/Othello Characters

Brabanzio

Desdemona's father; self-important venetian senator; friend of Othello; feels betrayed when Othello marries his daughter in secret

Miracle Max

Once the king's leading miracle man; Humperdinck fired him; retired; still knowns enough magic to resurrect Wesley from dead

Lodovico

One of Brabanzio's kinsmen; acts as messenger from Venice to Cyprus; brings letters announcing that Othello has been replaced by Cassio as governor

Clown

Othello's servant; appearances reflect and distort action and words of main plots

Queen Bella

Queen and Florin; Humperdinck's stepmother

Emilia

Iago's wife; Desdemona's attendant; cynical, world woman; deeply attached to her mistress; distrustful of her husband

Roderigo

Jealous suitor of Desdemona; young, rich, foolish; convinced that Iago can help him win Desdemona's hand for money; becomes desperate enough to help Iago plan the murder of Cassio

King Lotharon

King of Florin; Humperdinck's father; quite old, deaf, and difficult to understand

Yeste

Madrid's most famous sword-maker; Domingo Montoya made back-order swords for him

Valerie

Miracle Max's wife; stands as his "witch" since all miracle men must have their own witches

Buttercup

Most beautiful woman in world; heroine of the story; loves Wesley and her horse; feisty; tomboyish; marries Humperdinck; common girl; bold, passionate; her beauty moves the men (who move the plot); has courage and wits; charming; greatest factor in her decisions is a simple preference of life over death

Dread Pirate Roberts

Most feared pirate name on seas; captured Wesley; passed name onto him

Prince Humperdinck

Most powerful man in future Europe; epitomizes crotchety, undeserved, and dishonesty; county of Florin is "his playground"; Buttercup is "his disposable doll of a wife"; talented hunter; uses training for his own good (Zoo of Death is where he hunts for sport); disposes of his wife in order to amuse himself with a war; story is Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo's adventure as it seeps under and around Humperdinck's reign

Iago

Othello's ensign; villain of play; 28 years old; upset that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant; his motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in obsessive delight for destruction

Michael Cassio

Othello's lieutenant; young, inexperienced soldier; high position is resented by Iago; devoted to Othello; ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus; loses place as lieutenant; Iago uses Cassio's youth, looks, and friendship with Desdemona to make Othello upset

Othello

Play's protagonist and hero; Christian Moor; general of armies of Venice; eloquent; physically powerful figure; respected by all those around him; elevated status; easy prey to insecurities (ex. age, race, life as soldier); possesses "free and open nature"; Iago twists his love for Desdemona into jealousy

Count Rugen

Prince Humperdinck's "right-hand man"; has six fingers on right hand; slew Inigo's father; slain by Inigo; loves torture; sounds many hours studying torture

Fezzik

Used Vizzini; strongest man alive (for criminal purposes); especially large child in Turkey; parents took him to fight against champions; hated sport of fighting but did not want to lose his parents' affection by refusing; excellent at following instructions; very bad at remembering instructions; Inigo makes up rhymes so Fezzik can remember Vizzini's rules; only drive in life is not to be left alone

Bianca

A prostitute in Cyprus; her favorite customer is Cassio who teases her with promises of marriage

William Goldman

Actual author of The Princess Bride, as well as many other well-reputed books and screenplays; explains that this is his favorite book; book his father read him when he was sick; casts himself as the "good-parts editor"; rewrites original S. Morgenstern version so it can by enjoyable, like it was when he was young

Graziano

Brabanzio's kinsman; accompanies Lodovico to Cyprus; mentions that Desdemona's father has died

Yellin

Chief of all Enforcement in Florin City; Humperdinck's only confidante (along with Rugen)

Countess

Count's wife; most fashionable woman in future Europe; her attentiveness to Wesley stirs envy in Buttercup

Desdemona

Daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio; secretly married to Othello; stereotypically pure/meek; determined; self-possessed; equally capable of defending her marriage; responds with dignity to Othello's jealousy

S. Morgenstern

Fictional Florins author of the Princess Bride; we know nothing about him other than what William Goldman extracts from original version

Montano

Governor of Cyprus before Othello; recounts status of war; awaits Venetian ships

Domingo Montoya

Inigo Montoya's father; great sword-maker; killed by Rugen

Westley

Motivated by his love for Buttercup; tries his best to please her; learns everything the world can teach him, hoping that it may be useful in proclaiming his beloved; he is the "ideal man"; has imperfections; does everything with a "godlike perfection"

Inigo Montoya

Motivated to kill Count Rugen an tell him the phrase he has been practicing repeatedly; had adored his father, a great sword maker; life shattered when his father was killed by Rugen; spends the remainder of his childhood and young adulthood mastering the sword; becomes a wizard; highest ranked swordsman in world; takes forever to find the Count; turns to depression and alcoholism (gets out of this when Vizzini recruits him); fears losing his purpose (again); remains faithfully with Vizzini

Duke of Venice

Official authority of Venice; has great respect for Othello; his role is to reconcile Othello and Brabanzio, then send Othello to Cyprus

The Albino

Strange and silent character; takes care of Humperdinck's Zoo of Death