Leia's Relationship with Anakin/Vader

Why is it that when Anakin's specter comes to ask Leia for his forgiveness, she refuses? Why doesn't she understand that he was under the influence of the dark side and not Anakin Skywalker during this time, but Darth Vader?

 

Because she never met Anakin Skywalker. She never had an Obi-Wan or a Yoda to tell her anything about the good man her father had been. She only knew Darth Vader, from the time she was born until the time he died. The guy who

-- Murdered countless Jedi, innocent civilians, perhaps even fellow Senators
-- Murdered her ship's crew and blew her ship to scrap
-- Pumped her full of hypnotic drugs and had her imagine her skin was on fire while begging her as "father" (Bail Organa) to tell her where the Death Star plans were
-- Held her back and made her watch as the only home and family she'd ever known up to that point was VAPORIZED RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER (he may not have pulled the trigger, but he sure didn't try to stop it)
-- Damn near wiped out the Rebellion and herself with the Death Star
-- Chased her and the Rebellion around the galaxy for three years, killing who knows how many people she'd come to know
-- Caused tons of bloodshed at Hoth
-- Chased her and her friends from Hoth through an asteroid field (a @$(^*# ASTEROID FIELD) all the way to Cloud City
-- Sentenced the man she'd fallen in love with to something just shy of death (and maybe in its own way even worse) -- again, MAKING HER WATCH
-- Maimed and psychologically traumatized the young man she would later come to know as her brother

What's surprising isn't that she refused to forgive him at first -- it's that she ever found it in herself, even years later, to forgive him at all.

Yoda had it wrong when he said Leia was "another hope." If it had been her in the Death Star II's throne room, with all those events still fresh and bleeding in her mind, she'd have given in to her hatred and beheaded Vader without a second thought. She realized that, and that was a HUGE part of the reason she never followed in the family path and trained in the ways of the Jedi. She realized she had too much of her father in her.

 

Would you forgive your father if he tortured you, tortured the man you love, and cut off your best friend's hand? I think not. I doubt she thought that "I'm sorry" was good enough after all he had done to her and the people she cared about.

 

someone murders the only parents youve known... your home planet... many of your friends... and asks for forgiveness cause he was "under controll" by the darkside.. i wouldnt forgive em

 

That's very sad Leia didn't forgive Anakin. I assume this the only meeting she has with him too, right? I admit I haven't read the book this happens in, so I'm saying this without reference, but she just refused to forgive him and left? I bet Anakin felt horrible about it too, perhaps he knew she would have a hard time coping with the realization that he was her father. Surely, she forgave him eventually....

 

I acutally don't blame Leia for not forgiving Vader for...a very long time. And, in fact, I don't think it was ever Vader she was able to forgive. I think she separated Anakin and Vader and allowed herself to forgive the one but not the other.

A large part of this, I think, is the idea of the confrontation between them. Luke got a chance to be upfront with Vader, to meet those feelings of betrayal and rage head-on and resolve them. Leia was never given that chance to scream and rage and fight for all of the injustice done unto her and those around her.

Personally, I rather like that Leia took a long time to forgive Anakin Skywalker. She's a very strong person with headstrong morals, but her ability to hold onto hate for a long time (again, not that I blame her) shows some of the influence Anakin's genetics had on her - which makes for a fascinating contradiction. I also like the point of contention it places on Luke and Leia. Often times I find their bond is overlooked - including the facets of it that estrange them from each other while still making them devoted.