Buttercup Timeline & Summary

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• Buttercup grows up on her family's farm as a total tomboy. Her girl friends get mad at her when all of the village boys start having crushes on her, but she doesn't understand what she's done wrong.
• One day, a Count and Countess visit Buttercup's farm. Buttercup notices the Countess staring at Westley, a poor servant working on her farm; she becomes jealous and decides she wants Westley for herself.
• When she tells Westley she loves him, he shuts a door in her face and announces that he'll be leaving for America immediately. Only later does she find out that Westley wants to go to America so he can make his fortune and build a farm for the two of them to live on as man and wife.
• Buttercup learns that Westley's ship has been attacked by a pirate and that Westley has been killed. She vows never to love again.
• Meanwhile, Prince Humperdinck has heard about Buttercup's beauty and decides to pay her a visit. From the moment he sees her, he decides to take her as his new princess. She agrees to a loveless marriage, since she knows she'll never love again anyway.
• But not so fast—Buttercup gets kidnapped by murderers and then rescued by (that's right) Westley before she's married. Unfortunately, Humperdinck catches up with them. Buttercup says she'll still marry him (Humperdinck) if he promises not to hurt Westley. Humperdinck agrees, but then kills Westley anyway, though.
• With Westley out of the picture, Buttercup has all kinds of nightmares about how she's betraying Westley by marrying Humperdinck. Eventually, she figures out that Humperdinck didn't keep his word.
• At the end of the book, Westley comes back from the dead and rescues Buttercup with the help of his new buddies, Inigo and Fezzik. The three of them ride off into the night with Humperdinck in hot pursuit.