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Mara Skywalker: Horrible Parent, Merely Selfish, or No Big Deal? (RD Spoilers)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Genghis12, Mar 26, 2002.

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  1. Lianna

    Lianna Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2001
    We have something in common Narundi. My mother worked up until the day she had me. Only she wasn't a doctor she worked in a fish hatchery and stood on cement floors and lifted large fishtanks. She also got up at four in the morning to go to work. So, I'm sure that she drank caffeine with me too. I'm fine. Really, I'm fine.

    That beer comment was interesting because I was watching a talk show where a doctor was saying that if a woman was in the habit of drinking a glass of wine a day before she was pregnant it would not hurt her to continue during pregnancy. I don't think that he was well recieved.
     
  2. Anakin1607

    Anakin1607 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 7, 2002
    Honestly, Mara was quite well behaved in this book which surprized me. The part with Jaina trying to console her about Ben leaving for the Maw really sold it. She FINALLY lets her gaurd down and you can really see how scared she is. Scared she's not a good parent, scared about losing what she has, scared of the influence Palpatine had over her etc... In my view it made her quite sympathetic. It explains some of her previous action alot better.
     
  3. Lianna

    Lianna Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2001
    I'm looking forward to reading about Mara.
     
  4. ReaperFett

    ReaperFett Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 1999
    Mara DOES breastfeed. It was the joke in the SBS comment "She cant drop what shes doing. Shes feeding Ben" remark, IMO
     
  5. Gandalf the Grey

    Gandalf the Grey Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    May 14, 2000
    I doubt she's breastfeeding. Not knowing for certain if the disease is really out of her system or not, by breastfeeding she risks passing it on to Ben.

    Since she tends towards being overprotective towards Ben, I doubt she?d expose him to danger that way.
     
  6. chissdude10

    chissdude10 Jedi Youngling star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 26, 2001
    I have some feeling Mara was just oing through PMS in RD, she was acting like it. Lol, Genghis, since when are you a parent critiqe?
     
  7. Genghis12

    Genghis12 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1999
    I have to side with Reaperfett on the Mara breastfeeding. Realistically, I don't think there's any other way to take that comment. Sure, we can contrive something to support what anyone thinks - but that's the way I saw SbS as well.

    GtG - That may be true, but I'd also say her bitchiness, irresponsibility and selfishness also surpass her overprotectiveness of Ben. And exposing him to danger however remotely small it is and being an irresponsible parent wouldn't be out character for her. [face_mischief] Look at her parent/role-model growing up - Emperor Palpatine. I hardly think she'd have gotten exposed to Parenting 101 in between her Jedi Assassination classes. [face_plain] I think it busts any reasonable suspension of disbelief for Star Wars to think Mara has to by default automatically be a good parent. Her major influences for the majority of her life was an evil Dark Lord of the Sith - hardly a good parent.
     
  8. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

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    Nov 8, 2001
    I have to side with Reaperfett on the Mara breastfeeding. Realistically, I don't think there's any other way to take that comment. Sure, we can contrive something to support what anyone thinks - but that's the way I saw SbS as well.

    There's no reason we couldn't take it as "She can't drop what she's doing, she's feeding Ben with a bottle." (emphasis mine). Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
     
  9. ReaperFett

    ReaperFett Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 1999
    But not as funny. Thus ruining what was obviously humour :)
     
  10. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001
    But not as funny. Thus ruining what was obviously humour :)

    I will certainly grant you that. :D
     
  11. Gandalf the Grey

    Gandalf the Grey Jedi Knight star 6

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    May 14, 2000
    Palpatine wasn?t evil, just misunderstood.
     
  12. JediStryker

    JediStryker Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 5, 2000
    Then there's always the possibility that...<gasp>...the author just wasn't thinking when he wrote that.

    Honestly, I think this is a bad way to try and make a character you already don't like look worse. C'mon, Genghis, I expect more from you than this! :)

    Seriously, this is something that I think can either be explained away or ignored. To critique a fictional character based on one sentence like this, is pushing it a little even for fan-geeks like us.
     
  13. SECRETSISTER

    SECRETSISTER Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2001
    Anakin 1607 is close to hitting the nail on the head. I know what Mara is going through and so does every woman who has had a baby. The fear, anxiety, confusion, self-doubt come in wave after wave. And considering Mara's past - what Jaina gets from her through the Force - It's probably very close to overwhelming. Post-partum Syndrome can be like that hence the Andrea Yates thing here in Texas. But most mothers can get a handle on it and I think Mara did just that when she sent Ben with Han and Leia to the Maw and she joined Luke's team. The best way to protect Ben from all the bad things is to put an end to them NOW!

    Didn't mean to get preachy, but felt you might like a 3 time mother's opinion. And the PPS was there all three times, too.
     
  14. Genghis12

    Genghis12 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1999
    Actually, SECRETSISTER - I welcome such a response!

    Jedistryker...
    You're correct, Allston may possibly not have been thinking, but SW authors have certainly been nailed for less than this. The "let's ignore it" excuse doesn't hold much weight around here when we're discussing characters' behavior all of the time. My own personal likes and dislikes have nothing to do with questioning Mara's behavior. My original post had allowances for many different possibilities - all of which I thought was worth discussing. I'm very interested in my fiction when it can be tied to real-world issues.
     
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