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One of Brabanzio's kinsmen; acts as messenger from Venice to Cyprus; brings letters announcing that Othello has been replaced by Cassio as governor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