PT Mirrored Relationships: Padmé/Anakin; Jedi/Republic

I've recently been rewatching the last twenty minutes of RotS a fair number of times (from "Is Anakin alright?" onwards). I think it's obvious to most viewers that Padmé is a symbol of all that was good about the Republic.


But the meaning of Padmé cannot be reduced to one metaphor, or even the many dimensions which I've seen discussed here. I believe even the more thoughtful elements of the fandom have scarcely even begun to grasp it; and this because what her life's journey and death very elliptically gesture at are things which I would hesitate to even call "meanings", because they are truths which make our greatest artists' efforts (amongst which I would classify the PT) seem like semaphore.


I don't want to re-open the debate over "lost the will to live", though. And I'll be wise enough to turn away from those depths in Padmé I'm not eloquent enough to talk about. What specifically, articulably struck me recently was that her relationship with Anakin parallels the Jedi Order's relationship with the Republic and its governance.




(I'm not sure if this merits its own thread but it didn't seem like it would quite fit in the Padmé thread -- please merge if thought otherwise.)



TPM
The first time we're really introduced to the Padmé Anakin falls in love with (as opposed to Queen Amidala), she's a handmaiden (in the context of TPM, one who serves and protects/guards—like Jedi). Much like Qui-Gon who, for all his considerable personal flaws, as a Jedi best approximates what a Jedi Master should be IMO, she relates in a genuine way with Jar Jar and we see none of the condescension/arrogance that Boss Nass had accused the Naboo of—which we can see for ourselves in Theed's artwork and the lack of Gungan representation in Amidala's politician circle despite the fact that she seems to be regarded as the ruler of the planet. In contrast to her architectural queenly costumes or her Senate gowns in the next two films, she's wearing almost Jedi-like hooded robes whose colour reflects the most "Jedi" scene in TPM: Coruscant's sunset seen from the Temple balcony as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan share a Master and apprentice moment in which the mutual warm regard is palpable (despite Obi-Wan's nagging).

After they land on Coruscant, the Jedi go off with Chancellor Valorum; Anakin, with Padmé. As the Jedi have with the Republic, she's assumed the role of his protector, his guardian (even if only temporarily).



AotC
She's drawn further into his orbit. She senses a future of danger, deception, even destruction, that may arise if they pursue their relationship (the fireplace scene). She sees aspects of him that clearly disturb her (Lars garage), yet she is still drawn to him. And she is aware of the danger, but can't pull away ("I've been dying a little ever since you came back into my life.").

Likewise, the Jedi are unsettled by what the Republic is becoming. Obi-Wan and Mace appear disturbed by the convenient existence of the army. Mace and Yoda are shown reacting with deep unease to Palpatine's emergency powers. Most obvious is the last few lines of dialogue between the Jedi before the ending montage. "Nevertheless, I feel we should keep a closer eye on the Senate." Yoda explicitly recognises that things have taken a sinister turn, and seems to imply apprehension about Jedi involvement in the war: "Not victory. The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. Begun the Clone War has."

Yet on Geonosis they were fine with relying on the clones not only to bail themselves out, but to actively engage/pursue the Separatists (or so it looked to me). And of course for the next few years they go on to participate very actively in the war in the Republic's service.



RotS
Clearest here. Like Anakin, the Republic twists itself beyond recognition into something evil. Both willingly enslave themselves to Palpatine in a Faustian bargain that they think will buy them security from their fears. And one of the consequences of giving in to that fear is betrayal. Anakin turns on Padmé because his need for her validation and his fear and rage at losing it (which perhaps stem from his insecurities that she's too good for him) become more important to him than Padmé herself, or their relationship.


Although it is the clones and Vader who physically murder them, it is no less the Republic, as embodied in the Senate, which betrays the Jedi. After millennia of the Order's service, the Senate enthusiastically accepts Palpatine's coup story.


It also seems significant that Padmé's in Jedi colours the last time she meets Anakin, and when he violently turns on her. Tan and cream; the boots are similar; even her collar and the straps crossing her chest in a V are reminiscent of the kimono folds of the Jedi tunic. In the concept art for that final confrontation, the predecessors of this costume clearly stand out from the rest as being Jedi-inspired. Costume design could easily have gone with an aqua theme which would contrast nicely with Mustafar, tie in with her nightgown from the Sleepless Knight scene (symbolising the marital bed Anakin has betrayed for power), foreshadow her funeral and repeat the water motif with which she's been constantly associated. Yet what we get is something that seems to deliberately echo Obi-Wan visually.




Beyond those parallels tied to the visual elements of narrative specificities, one of my pet interpretations of the PT as a whole is that, just as Padmé became Anakin's surrogate spiritual mother, the Jedi Order (in Obi-Wan in particular) unwittingly became the mother that begot Darth Vader. This is a reading on which I really love exploring AotC especially, but it's there in the other prequels too. I am in no way blaming the Jedi on the level of character motivation, psychological history and fictito-reality for Anakin's fall...this is looking at the PT more from a mythopoeaic perspective. On that basis I think GL's treatment of good and dysfunctional motherhoods in the PT, which seems far subtler than his treatment of fathers in the OT, is one of the most excitingly original themes of the Saga.


Comparing Padmé's relationship with Anakin to the Jedi Order's relationship with the Republic-that-would-be-Empire is one way to approach this theme, I think.

 

Ahh, glad to see users doing more Padme deconstructions.

We need more of that. There is so much to her character that George, put so much detail in.

 

Wonderful, I was thinking to write something more literal about the Ani/Padme-Han/Lea relations but this is very interesting and serious, so I'll contribute later.

 

This is really interesting, I've never thought about it in quite that way before. I was wondering what exactly you mean by Padme being Anakin's "surrogate spiritual mother." I follow your comparison with their relationship and the Republic, but I always saw her more as balancing out Anakin: she's calm and rational whereas he his impulsive and emotional, etc. So are you saying that through their relationship she nurtures him spiritually in a way the Jedi never did? Or is it something more than that?

 

More on Anakin being the equivalent of the Galactic Republic:

In AOTC, the Republic is about to fall victim to an attack by the Confederacy, whose leaders represent a particular form of barbarism. This hardens the Republic. It launches a pre-emptive strike against the Confederacy, first with the Jedi and then with the clone troopers. The rapid militarisation of the Republic sows the seeds of the Galactic Empire.

Anakin's mother is abducted and slowly murdered by the Tuskens, who represent another form of barbarism. Anakin is driven to an extremely violent reaction. His revenge against the Tuskens is his first genuinely "Dark" act, a precursor to his actions during and after his defection to the Sith Order.

 

Very interesting references, still, I think that in this metaphorical aspect which is not the only one, of course, Padme is the symbol of the Republic or maybe what the Republic should be and Anakin is its protector, its guard (I mean of the Republic, not only of Padme). The first contact between them is when Anakin saves the day with the podracing and after that destroying the Federation Ship. In AOTC he is literal guard of Padme, he dedicated to her his love, his soul and his life and ... in the ROTS we know what is happening: Anakin, trying to protect her looses her. So, in this case, the protector fails and unwillingly betrays the Republic and the Republic disappears.
The funny thing is that Anakin continues to serve as protector but of the anti-Republic, i.e. the Empire. But when he decided to overthrow the Empire, it practically dissapears and Anakin goes back to his real path, saving the New Republic and his children. I think this role of protector is connected to the fact that he is the Chosen one: it is his mission to do that, to protect (only that he fails and looses his way in the process and go back in the end).
Speaking of that, I think that the relationship between Padme and Anakin is not that of surrogate mother and son (as Parjai asked). I think is more like between a medieval knight and his queen: she is his 'milady' and has to protect her. I think that is not a concidence that there are so many references to Tristan and Isolde and Lancelot and Guinevere (no matter that here there is no love triangle).

 

Well firstly I would dispute that they're so diametrically opposed in temperament. Padmé's rationality is exaggerated, imo. She acts on intuition and instinct, sometimes totally contrarily to reason, eg when she decided to recapture Naboo with absolutely no forces. I would agree this is quite different from Anakin's impulsivity though, and interestingly seems far closer to the Jedi ideal which Qui-Gon expressed as "Feel, don't think; trust your instincts."

I guess I felt her to be a mother to Anakin simply in the sense that she seems to take over Shmi's role in Anakin's life from the time they leave Tatooine. She tucks a blanket around him when she senses he misses his mother; it is to her care that Anakin is entrusted when they finally arrive on Coruscant.

Even when they're lovers, all the caregiving seems to be on one side. And the very fact that, as you point out, Padmé seems to have a much better-developed sense of responsibility and reality than Anakin exacerbates the persistent sense that she's in charge in their relationship. She establishes this pretty early on the first few scenes they have alone together in AotC. And not only does he continue to defer to her lead throughout, he seems to need her guidance and the stabilising effect of her presence - in much the same way he needs his other parent-figure's, Obi-Wan's.

Ultimately it's just a feeling I get personally, I suppose, more than specific narrative elements. You might compare their their relationship with Han/Leia, for example. The fundamental difference in their chemistry I think is not just a matter of different artistic antecedents/sources or stylistic issues. I think it's substantial, and would personally attribute it to the maternal/filial element between Padmé and Anakin. It also becomes apparent for me from Padmé's interaction with Obi-Wan in RotS, which somehow strongly reminded me of Qui-Gon and Shmi in TPM.

Well, my initial hand-scribbled notes on this topic as I was watching RotS were actually titled "Our Lady of Sorrows and her Knight". So I agree. Especially with the Lancelot/Guinevere analogy, as I've said in the Padmé thread, because of the tragic element of betrayal in the Arthurian triangle between passion and duty.

I don't think that necessarily excludes other dimensions to their relationship though. For me, they complement and enrich each other: the Oedipal reading of Anakin's psychology and the chivalric romance.

I enjoyed reading all the thoughts on this topic; thanks! Padmé is definitely one of the characters with the greatest staying power, in my mind. She didn't make all that much of an impression at first, 17 years ago, but I keep thinking about her. There's so much depth and multidimensionality there: as a dramatic character; as a motif/symbol in the saga; as an iconic and presciently unique standard of female heroism in pop culture.