How would Shmi have reacted to Anakin's fall?

Personally, I don't think Shmi would've been able to handle something like that at all. Obi Wan was shooken up by it, and he was not related to Anakin at all. Padme died of a broken heart because of Anakin's betrayal. If that happened to them, than you know Shmi would not have handled this well at all.

Not only would Shmi have been appualled by Anakin's actions and would've definately turned on him, she would've regretted giving Anakin over to the Jedi. I could definately see that happening.

I definately think her reaction to the whole thing would've been far more severe than Obi Wan's and Padme's were. I think the whole thing just might have depressed her so much that she would've died of a broken heart, like Padme did.

What do you guys think?

 

I think you would be right. She would have regretted it, and proably doubted her abilities as a mother. She would be horrified to hear that her "kind little boy" had become a murderer, child killer and Sith. I don't know if she would die of a broken heart, but she would be haunted by the atrocities her son commited for the rest of her days.

 

With the way that the story was written, Anakin would not have turned to the darkside if his mother had lived. Failure to prevent his mother's death was the impetus for turning in the first place. (based on dialogue, Padme was a really-close second) So I do not believe Shmi would have anything to react to, because with mommy-living, there's no reason to start killing.

 

I think SithStarSlayer has hit the nail on the head here. Though I can imagine quite vividly a grey-haired Pernilla August saying, "Oh, Ani, I am so disappointed in you!"

Shmi's death was the true lynch-pin of Anakin's fall. His belief that he could have prevented it, had he been more powerful, and his determination never to let anything like that happen again to his Shmi-surrogate, Padme, was the fulcrum Sidious used in seducing Anakin to the Dark Side.

 

Agreed. Lucas said it himself that the basis of his fall is loss of the things he's attatched to. When his mother dies he promises her to not fail again, and thats what makes Anakin jump to extremes during ROTS. If Shmi had never died, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly when he saw the images of Padme, he wouldn't be so paranoid.

 

Maybe if she had faked her death because she was really darth plaguis in drag she/he would have been ecstatic that he was going through the natural stages of sith-hood.

 

Plagueis is a Muun, not a human.


Anyways I agree with SSS.

 

She probably would have disapproved, giving him a big speech.

Anakin would have thrown a fit claiming that he was "Vader now!"

 

Had he turned I think this is exactly how she would have reacted. However like SSS and FirBholg I don't think that he would have fallen had Shmi survived. Preventing Shmi's death would have prevented him from ever really tuning in with the dark side in the first place.

 

I think the problem had lain not just in Shmi's death, but with how Anakin was told to deal with it. A part of the Jedi philosophy is to not have any attachments, and to not mourn those who have died because they have joined the Force. Essentially it is: they died, get over it, they are now a part of the Force.

I imagine that to Anakin, when his mother died, a part of him died too. Here is a person who was raised by his mother until he was 9, and despite his slight independance, he depended on her for safety, security, love and a home. He was very strongly attatched to her because she was everything to him. If his mother was there, that was all that mattered. I think it probably would not have mattered to him if they lived in a dirty hut, so long as she was there. Such was the level of his attatchment. And that was where the Jedi couldn't understand, as most of them never knew their mothers, they never had to depend on someone to the depth that Anakin did. He had needed her to survive, he was emotionally dependant on her, as she was all he really had.

And this had remained even when he was a Jedi. As long as he knew she was alright, he was fine. But when he sensed she was in danger, he promptly disregarded everything else. He runs to save her without caring what the Jedi or anybody else thinks, because she was still essentially his entire world. He still needed her, he needed her to be his mother and to be that safe anchor he could always depend on. He wanted to free her, to know she would always be there for him, and that was really what mattered to him. Not the Jedi, and to an extent, not Padme. And when he went to his mother, in his mind he was that little boy again, trying to protect her and keep her safe.

But when she died, his whole world collapsed. His emotional stability, his security, his confidence in himself, most of that was dependant on her. Without her, he had nothing. His emotional state was such that he even attacked children, taking out anyone and anything in his pain and rage. And when it was done, he was numb and dead inside. He packed up the dead body of his mother, to bury her. I imagined he cried while carrying the dead weight of his mother's body, and knowing she was gone forever.

Unfortunatly some of the Jedi tenets do not really allow a regular person to grieve normally. Just telling a person who has lost something major to him to forget about it and not mourn, that just creates a whole host of problems. Anakin really needed to get to talk about it and feel it so he could deal with it in a healthy manner. But he didn't get to, and what happened was that because the Jedi weren't there for him, he turned to someone else: Palpatine. He could talk to Palpatine, he could tell him stuff he wouldn't tell anyone else, he felt safe with him. But all Palpatine was interested in was using Anakin, who was still fragile and who he could prey on and manipulate.

When Anakin fell in love with Padme, his emtional issues led him to become obsessive and paranoid. She became everything to him like Shmi had been, and he began to be dependant on her. Anakin still missed his mother terribly, and so when another person in his life who was really important to him was in danger of dying, he went to ask for help in saving her. But sadly the Jedi gave him no help. So he went to Palpatine. Palpatine told him that there was hope to save her, and Anakin who was still tramatized from losing his mother, took the bait.

His need for Padme was so great, that it overruled anything else in his life. When he went after the Seperatists, he cried. He knew he was doing something evil, but he needed Padme too bad to stop. He killed little kids, but Padme was more important to him then they were.

 

I agree Eechuuta, they way Anakin was told to deal with his attachments was poorly written.
I think that is one of the reasons that Lucas is giving him Asohka in the new movie. GL's is rewriting his own history, specifically in an attemt to soften our perception of the callous Jedi Order. (and of course, to make boatloads of dough in the process) We'll just have to see how it all unfolds...

***

That didn't stop Shmi...
[image=http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z274/EyeBashBadWriting/Father_n_Mother_Skywalker.jpg]

Man, I'm enjoying all the love... gotta soak it up cuz it won't last.

 

She would have been absolutely destroyed if she were to find out, because Anakin had turned evil and twisted the galaxy. She always thought that he had extraordinary talents, but seeing them used in an evil way would destroy her completely.

 

That pic is pretty fraking creepy SSS.

 

Yeah, I wonder if Plagueis would have saved her from death.
You know, since the Sith are known to care soo much about other people.

 

I think the OP was asking how would Shmi react, if she was somehow able to see her son from beyond the netherworld.

 

If Shmi was in the netherworld,even though she wasn't trained to use the force, she'd become an alcoholic because she gave Anakin life. She'd be drunk and Anakin would be considered the devil child in all her rantings.

 

Well, if you look closely at what the OP wrote, they clearly were speaking of Shmi in the present, had she survived the Tusken ordeal

At least thats how I took it.

 

Shmi would be tore up over it, but she's seems to be too strong of a person to die of a broken heart because of it. She might hit the bottle and go into a depression, but I think she would pull through and live her life or afterlife.

 

And this had remained even when he was a Jedi. As long as he knew she was alright, he was fine. But when he sensed she was in danger, he promptly disregarded everything else. He runs to save her without caring what the Jedi or anybody else thinks, because she was still essentially his entire world. He still needed her, he needed her to be his mother and to be that safe anchor he could always depend on. He wanted to free her, to know she would always be there for him, and that was really what mattered to him. Not the Jedi, and to an extent, not Padme. And when he went to his mother, in his mind he was that little boy again, trying to protect her and keep her safe.

But when she died, his whole world collapsed. His emotional stability, his security, his confidence in himself, most of that was dependant on her. Without her, he had nothing. His emotional state was such that he even attacked children, taking out anyone and anything in his pain and rage. And when it was done, he was numb and dead inside. He packed up the dead body of his mother, to bury her. I imagined he cried while carrying the dead weight of his mother's body, and knowing she was gone forever.

Anakin's biggest problem is thinking the lives of others are his responsibility. He assigned himself the keeper of his mother though that is totally inappropriate. But it's common with single mothers that have a boy. He sees himself as the man of the family. Even in TPM novel, it noted that he took beatings for Shmi. A little child! He always felt responsible for her, and felt tremendous guilt that he couldn't care for her. I think Cliegg being hurt and all that just reconfirmed that only he was meant to protect her. No one else could, and he let her down.

He did the same with Padme, though it was foolish. Think of how he was reunited with Padme. Her line of work was always risky, and she knew it. She accepted it. She didn't even react to news that she was going to die. She seemed to accept it as an inevitability. Anakin never could, and that is what made him so messed up.



That pic is pretty fraking creepy SSS.


Well, now we know where Anakin got his tall thin body from, and inhuman scrappiness.............

 

[Vader] "Obi Wan never told you about your Darth Grandfatherrr..." [/Vader]
[Luke] "Darth?! That's not true!! That's impossible!!!" [Luke]
[Vader] "He was a Muun. Search your feelings. You know it to be true![/Vader]
[Luke] Nooooooooooooooooooo! [/Luke]

 

nice.

 

Wow SSS...just wow.

 

[image=http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n107/SithStarSlayer/SamanthaRyanSetMyAssOnFire.jpg]
Yeah, I'm kindof on fire in this thread right now...
I don't know whats come over me.

 

If Shmi hadn't died, Anakin would not have gone dark, so she would never have to face that situation. It was all Shmi's fault for dying.