Original artwork, not a still
You can’t hurt me. Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love. And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords.
— The Princess Bride • 1987
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the film's romantic creed delivered as a threat. Buttercup, who has spent half the story being rescued, finally stands up to the man holding her prisoner and answers a threat with a fairy-tale vow. Fans quote it at weddings and in tributes, and the bloodhounds-and-swords image has become shorthand for a bond no one can track or break.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Princess BrideShow the scene
Buttercup has been brought back to Florin after the Fire Swamp, and Prince Humperdinck has secretly sent Westley to the Pit of Despair. She realises Humperdinck never sent the ships he promised to look for Westley and that Westley will come for her anyway, and she tells the prince he is a coward with a heart full of fear. When he warns her not to speak that way, she answers with this speech: a thousand bloodhounds could not track their love, and a thousand swords could not break it. She adds that she calls him a coward because he is the slimiest weakling ever to crawl the earth.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: The Princess Bride (film)scene sectionsReference checked
- Wikipedia: The Princess Bride (film)Plot sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
