Vergere's lesson

What do you think the lesson Vergere was trying to teach Jacen in Traitor was? Was it a lesson about the Force, pain or life in general? Was she using the Force like she used the Yuzzhan Vong, or was understanding the Force her ultimate destination for Jacen? Also was the lesson Jacen learned the lesson the teacher was teaching or something different?

I think Vergere's lesson wasn't about the Force, but about self-knowledge. I think Vergere was trying to teach Jacen to rely on himself, and not to always expect help, like she said to him in the Embrace of Pain. I believe she used the Force, and Yuzzhan Vong to train Jacen into being what she thought was the idea warrior to fight the Yuzzhan Vong. I also believe Vergere showed Jacen that the Dark Side isn't the same for everyone or every situation, while showing him the lines for his Dark Side, and making sure he understood how to control it.

Jacen didn't learn these lessons as well as Vergere could have hoped he would, but forcing him into the nursery and giving him the gardener analogy made him realize he couldn't just sit around anymore. Jacen was made to that he had to take action against the enemy, in this case the Yuzzhan Vong.

But I honestly think Vergere's lessons weren't strictly about the Force, they were lessons that everyone can learn and benefit from, because she taught Jacen how to understand and rely on himself. That's the only real reason she shrunk Jacen's Force Awareness, so that Jacen would have to depend on Jacen to survive physically and mentally without any help from the Force.

If there are any other relevant topics besides the one about Vergere's view of the Force please post a link to them so I can read them.

 

Yes. Sort of like what Mara did to Anakin, only more drastic.

My interpretation is that one of the things that she was teaching him to not fear the consquences of his actions. "Choose, then act." All through the early NJO Jacen was petrified of making the wrong decision, and this led to inaction that almost proved fatal at Duro when Leia was to be sacrificed.

 

Vergere was not primarily interested in actually teaching Jacen anything--not about The Force, not about himself, not about anything. Her primary goal was creating something out of Jacen; specifically, the proper weapon to bring an end to the war. Any lessons he might have learned along the way are entirely secondary. Liken it, if you will, to modern military training. The drill instructors are not primarily interested in teaching their recruits about being better men, about being self reliant, or anything abstract like that. They're interested in breaking down human beings and turning them into weapons created to win wars. Anything the recruits learn about themselves or the world is secondary.

KW

 

Good point there Knight_Wanderer, and she did break him down once or twice. The Embrace of Pain broke him, then the nursery and having him pretend to work for the Yuzzhan Vong built him back up into what she wanted. That was helpful to him for the war too, but I think there were some lessons there that Jacen couldn't have just had forced on him, like how he learned to deal with pain. If he hadn't heard Vergere's "lies" then he might not have learned what she needed him to learn about pain. She was harsh, but there were lessons hidden in her harshness and that's what I think she was trying to get across to Jacen. I know I'm not making much sense right now, but I'll try and refine what I mean so that it's easier to understand.