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Of Innocence and Experience - Page 2

© Paul F. McDonald

Some fans have noticed his arrogant, impulsive nature in Attack of the Clones, and have already decided that that is what leads to his inevitable fall. Of course, one could hasten to point out that most adolescent males are arrogant and impulsive. And furthermore, it is safe to say that very few of them become genocidal dictators. It seems to me that after Anakin transforms into Darth Vader, he could have used more of that reckless arrogance. The Emperor clearly has him under his thumb, and as a result, he constantly follows him about saying "Yes, my master" and even telling Luke "I must obey my master." Indeed, perhaps it is actually some last spark of adolescent rebellion that allows him to rise up and finally fulfill his destiny by killing the Emperor.

It is interesting that the boy who is suppose to bring balance to the Force has such a difficult time finding balance in his own self. Myth of course has a heavy psychological component to it, and like most hero archetypes, Anakin is very much a metaphor for a developing consciousness. As he leaves Tatooine and becomes a Jedi, he is really on a tour of self. The Force is likewise symbolic of the unconscious, with all its mystery and uncanny abilities. The Trade Federation ship he blows up in The Phantom Menace and the Sith lord he duels in Attack of the Clones are really symptomatic of all the negative powers he must overcome to be a fully realized human being.

The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who did extensive work in the field of mythology, wrote that everyone starts off with an original sense of wholeness. When a self-conscious ego begins to emerge, this wholeness begins to fragment. With Anakin, the process will apparently be traumatic enough to split him into a false persona as Vader. Lucas has told TIME magazine that the real reason Anakin falls to the dark side is that he gets too attached to things. With this inability to let go, he needs all the power he can get, yet the more he tries to control things, the more alienated from them he gets.

There is some great bits of foreshadowing already in place. For one, the scene on Geonosis when Anakin gets his arm welded to a piece of metal on a conveyor belt in the droid factories prefigures his becoming more machine than man, even before he loses his arm completely. There is also his duel with Count Dooku in complete darkness, perhaps symbolizing the role the exiled Jedi will ultimately play in his fall. This scene also ties in with the original trilogy, for Anakin experiences first hand the agony of getting electrocuted by Sith lightning, the very thing that he will later save his son from. The most pivotal scenes of course revolve around his return to Tatooine and his search for his mother.

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