Question on relationships between Master and Padawan

Well, I asked this a long time ago, and am now seeing if I get the same answer. Is it possible for a Master and a Padawan to have a romantic relationship? This is the focus of a fanfic that I thinking of doing. The apprentice is eight years younger, about sixteen, and the master is about twenty four. Is it possible to write this and make it believeable?

 

Its possible, but it would be really hard. The master would of been knighted unusually young, they are usually knighted in thier late 20's. i think obi-Wan was an early acception, but even he was about 24 when he was knighted.
But it would also be really interesting. PM me if you post it.

 

Maybe if the story took place in The New Jedi Order.

 

[mod comment]Neon, can I suggest eighteen for the padawan, just to be technically on the safe side? [/mod comment]

For myself as a reader, I think that a master/padawan romance is a bit odd. I've been party to one in the Sith Order series, but the Master was very disturbed by it, and the padawan was ashamed of herself for trying to initiate it. The reason I think it came out that way is that a master has raised his/her padawan. The master is a surrogate parent... whatever the age differential, it's still kind of, emotionally speaking, a bit incestuous.

 

Okay this may be a stupid idea, but what if you had the padawans old master die, and as her training wasn't quite complete [about 18, I agree that 16 is to young] and the Jedi Council appointed a very recently knighted Jedi to fisnish her last few years of training. [because they didn't have any other masters availible to finish the training]
Just a random thought...

 

Well, it probably depends on your time frame. In the Old Jedi Order, I think it likely that the Master and Padawan would have been psychologically conditioned from an early age, so that they wouldn't give relationships a second thought. The New Jedi Order is a different story. Since our friend Luke has led by example in marrying Mara, the new Jedi are likely to place more emphasis on love and marriage (which shows with Corran and Kam).

I've also got a Master-Padawan thing on the go in my series, but here's my rationale: They do their best to hold it in until the Padawan's knighthood. The key is how hard they try to hold it. The attraction is mutual and it's getting stronger, so it's pumping the UST up to unbearable levels.

As JG pointed out, age is another consideration. In light of the huge discussion we just had on our PG standards, let's leave the fluff in and the pedophilia out.

 

I know of two stories (series, actually) where this has happened...

JediKnight-Obi-Wan has written an amazing spinoff of the USJS involving two OCs, a Master and Padawan, who are romantically involved. The twist to this one is that the Padawan's first Master died when she was fourteen, and the new Master was knighted very young. But nothing happened between them until she was about eighteen, I think.

The other one is in a series I'm cowriting, and Why Love Was Forbidden in the Old Jedi Order is the story where the romance actually heats up. Again, this isn't a situation where the master has been a surrogate parent for the apprentice, but rather, she was assigned to him when she was about seventeen. In this story, she's nineteen, and he's in his early thirties.

So it can be done, but I'm with JG... it would be a little weird if the master had actually raised the padawan.

Mel

 

it would be a little weird if the master had actually raised the padawan

I agree.

 

NOTE Everyone can stop groaning... I'm with the general consensus here.

What would make ME more comfortable with the idea...

a) Bring them closer in age... it does sound a bit pedophilic (or at least in many states, illegal, 'age of consent' and all of that.)

b) Considering that age when most Jedi initiates are taken as Padawans (according to what we've been lead to believe) before they enter their teenage years and undubtably been watched by potential masters long before... It's comming across as vaugely incestuious in the current incarnation (father/daughter or mother/son.. the squick factor would put off even the most staunchest of free speech writers...)

Not trying to tell you what to write.. just my two credits....

 

I thought to clear myself up a bit here. I do agree that your points are all valied, expecially if these had been humans.

My characters are not human, they come from a race where the normal high age is around thirty because of the war that has been raging for over a few thousand years on their world. They are both taken after its been ingrained into them that they have a short time to live. That would explain the young coming of age for her. Plus, they mentally and physically age faster because of this notion. Also, I was not talking of a fully sexually active relationship, more of a courtship between the two, they were going to wait until she was knighted to get married.

JediKlea; That was my original idea, though when I looked at the future events, I thought it might not fit. I might give it another go though...

Now down to the Father/daughter relationship the two are suppose to have. I admit I'm going for that strange type of thing like in Romeo and Juliet. They have a bond from early age, and at first consider it to be such a F/D relatioship, but when she reaches the normal coming of age for her kind, they find its something more. I know its a wacked idea and all and I probably made more of a mess with this. Perhaps I shouldn't have brought it up...

 

NONONONONONO!!

(DB back in noraml mode.)

Never be afraid of 'bringing up' a subject... discussion is a great thing!!

It's an interesting concept but you'll have to make sure that you clarify the situation (aliens, shortened lifespan ect ect ect...) before you start delving into the relationship aspect and it should be fine...