A Villain Redeemed, Part I

Perhaps one of the complaints about the Prequel Trilogy is that it makes Anakin, and therefore Darth Vader, a sympathetic victim and not the galaxy's most evil villain.  On this blog, you will not hear any PT trashing, so that is not where I am going here.  I will posit in these first few postings that we see the fall of someone to the uttermost depths of despair, hatred, self loathing and narcissism.  Darth Vader becomes the one who needs to be saved not only from his oppressor, but from himself.  In Part I we will deal with the former proposition.  

Freedom From His Oppressor

Anakin needs to be saved from his oppressor.  There is a lot of writing out there about Vader being nothing more than a hatchet man for the Emperor - Leia makes that clear when they are orbiting Alderaan.  In Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, which I have just finished reading for the first time, we see a different aspect of the pull from the light side to the dark side.  In the final duel between Darth Vader and Roan Shryne, there is this exchange: 

          "I owe you a debt," he told Vader.  "It took you to bring me back to the force."

          "And you to firm my faith in the power of the Dark Side, Master Shryne."

…Vader's bloodlust had been appeased; replaced by self possession of a sort he had never before experienced.  It was as if he had crossed some invisible threshold to a new world.  He could feel the power of the Dark side rushing through him like an icy torrent." 

Having been tempted by pure evil, Anakin has fallen prey to the temptation.  No where does he mention his wife or presumed dead child.  He refers to himself as being powerful through acquiescing to the dark side. 

          There is a biblical parallel to this as well.  In a book of the Old Testament which often comes to my mind, we find this in the book of Job: 

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.  And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” 

          So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

          Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

          So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?  Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

          And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

          Satan - cunning, powerful, formerly beautiful, jealous - seeks to take out the beloved of God.  He wants to use Job to prove that love is fallible, and circumstantial.  You see, Satan's proposition that once you love something, you love it for its value to you.  God has other ideas, of course.  

          For God, love is basic, love is not based on financial reward or beneficial relationships.  Job loves God regardless of his wealth, regardless of the number of children with which he is blessed.  The story of Job is not one of God using His beloved as a pawn in a sick cosmic game, but a worthy and valuable lesson to all of Job's family, and us his spiritual descendants.  Job loves God because God is love.  Job loves the One who loves Him simply because he has being. 

          This is how the light side of the force cares for the galaxy.  The Chosen One, if you believe it is Anakin (and I do) was conceived by the power of the force to powerfully counterbalance the evil done by the Sith in general, and Sidious and Plagueis in particular.  When Sidious and Plagueis became more powerful, the Force counteracted that with its own challenge. 

          We see the parallels here.  A good child only knows good, even if being brought up in an oppressive environment.  He was always helpful and compassionate to his mother, slaver and neighbors.  Maybe not so much to Sebulba.  Definitely to Kitster.  Anakin had the opportunity to bring about a great good.  But his temptation from the evil one destroyed that possibility.  He is a human, and had the freedom to make any choice he wanted.  However, instead of eternal love and the galaxy, he chose himself.  This is the bet that Sidious took.  This is the coin that Satan laid down on the table.  Only in the Scriptures, evil fails.  We see that evil eventually fails in our story, but there is much pain and suffering until we get there.  

          At the end of this first post, I thank you for your attention.  Theology is a joy for me, and Star Wars is fun.  As I get older, I see more and more connections between them.  With the bright future in front of us in the Star Wars galaxy, I hope that some really awesome conversations come about through the crazy juxtaposition which is this blog.  
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