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Goldman refers to one of the sub-chapters of Buttercup's Baby as the Unexplained Inigo Fragment, as it appears to serve little purpose in terms of plot and raises more questions than it answers. By including it, Goldman is able to make one of his points regarding the purpose of literature to the reader: it exists to teach people to ask questions and engage with texts critically. Yet, like life itself, literature doesn’t always provide neat or satisfactory conclusions. This reflects the novel’s broader notion that life is unpredictable and unfair, despite how fairytales may make it seem. By including it as part of Buttercup's Baby, which Goldman asserts was written near the end of Morgenstern's career, he also suggests that learning to write things that encourage others to ask questions is part of the coming of age process as a writer. In this way, its inclusion signals Goldman's maturity as a writer, while also encouraging the reader to undergo a similar shift in maturity.
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The Unexplained Inigo Fragment Symbol Timeline in The Princess Bride
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Unexplained Inigo Fragment appears in The Princess Bride. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Buttercup's Baby: 2. Inigo
Goldman explains that this chapter stops here. He calls it the Unexplained Inigo Fragment and his editor didn't want to include it because nothing happens. He believes, however, that...
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Buttercup's Baby: 3. Buttercup and Westley
...is doing by first offering the chapter in which Waverly gets kidnapped, then presenting the Unexplained Inigo Fragment where he (supposedly) says the kidnapping is going to happen, and then goes back to...
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Buttercup's Baby: 4. Fezzik Falling
...to die. He lists a few of the questions he has: what's up with the Unexplained Inigo Fragment , who's the madman, and who did invade Fezzik.
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