The Vader Suit: a possible symbol of purgatory?

I don't know which faith of Christianity it is , I think Catholic, that believes if someone dies without repenting of their sin they must go to purgatory until their redemption is earned.

GL has noted that ROTS' planet of Mustafar is supposed to represent hell, and we all know what happens to Anakin. In a way, Anakin doesn't repent and he burns for his sins. However, the light side of the force still sees potential in him and he survives via the Vader suit until he destroys Sidious at the end of ROTJ, at which point he has redeemed himself and may move on to become one with the force.

Just a thought. I have to hand it to GL, he made an interesting study of the stages of life an death from a spiritual standpoint. You have the childhood, where everything is rather innocent, then adulthood where conflict begins to arise. Then death and a version of hell and purgatory if you believe in that stuff, then ascension to the afterlife.

 

an interesting concept but ther a few problems with it. The souls that are in purgatory are there because they died in the state of venial sin (minor sins) or because even though they repented their mortal sins there still a hole left from the sin in ths souls. just wnted to clarify that, it was a very good theory, just wanted to clarify that information up a bit.

 

Interesting thoughts.
My personal take is that Anakin is always a slave.
A slave by Watto, a slave by the Jedi, a slave by Sidious and a slave to the suit.

I suppose it can work with pugatory, it is his torture, and it haunts him, I'm sure.

-Seldon

 

Interesting subject. The Vader suit kept Vader alive untill he destroyed Sidious then it let him die (it actually was because of the chopped off hand and Force Lightening) in peace.

-S-

 

Honestly, George Lucas isn't basing Star Wars off any specific religion. It is universal themes and common archtypes.

It isn't so much that he is making hell for the purpose of making a statement about religion. He is using it in a thematic way. To contrast heaven and hell. This sort of contrast is common in Star Wars. The clouds of Bespin seem like heaven, but the inner parts of the city are hellish. On Kamino the outside is chaotic and hellish while the inside is calm and tranquil. Lucas isn't commenting on religion, or any specific one...he is just using that common mythic arc. Going into Hades, the labyrinth etc.

I don't think the suit is purposely acting as purgatory. It can be looked at it like that, but it wasn't intended that way.

This is a spoiler-free forum so we really shouldn't be discussing ROTS locations.

-Seldon

 

Is it too much to even mention the name of a planet? I didn't really give away plot points that aren't revealed in the OT.

Making a spoiler rule like we have really makes it difficult to discuss the films on an ep. by ep. basis.

 

I doesn't bother me, but I can see how it could bother some.
I already knew the name so it was no big deal.
Is it really that much to leave the name out? It can still be discussed.
This forum has done fine long before we knew anything about Episode III, so it can't be too difficult to leave the info out for a few more months.

-Seldon

 

In the Technical Commentaries there is an extremely interesting artricle about the "breastplate inscriptions". I add this here, because it might be of interest for you.

Lord Vader's Breatplate

The article says that there are indeed inscriptions here - which actually fit to the theme of this thread !

Alrik.

 

I've got a reply from someone who helped me deciphering the breatplate inscriptions. I've sent this to the maker of the Technical Commentaries.

Quote :

It's a play on a section of Exodus 16

and "The Doctrine of Charity" from the Arcana Coelestia (AC)
AC8 = volume eight

Put into Hebrew form.

Specifically this phrase:
AC 8393 "Repentance of the mouth and not of the life is not repentance.
Sins are not forgiven through repentance of the mouth,
but through repentance of the life."

It then goes on to say:
AC 8393 "Sins are continually being forgiven man by the Lord,
for He is mercy itself; but sins adhere to the man,
however much he may suppose that they have been forgiven,
nor are they removed from him except through a life
according to the commands of faith.
So far as he lives according to these commands,
so far his sins are removed; and so far as they are removed,
so far they have been forgiven.
For by the Lord man is withheld from evil, and is held in good;
and he is so far able to be withheld from evil
in the other life, as in the life of the body
he has resisted evil; and he is so far able to be
held in good then, as in the life of the body he
has done what is good from affection.
This shows what the forgiveness of sins is,
and whence it is.
He who believes that sins are forgiven in any other way,
is much mistaken.

 

Cool!

 

From a religious point of view Darth Vader is Adam. He made a wrong choice and fell from grace. Adam, along with all humanity is redeemed by the son of God(You know, Jesus?) and this is literally translated as Vader being redeemed by his own son.

This is but one aspect, Vader is also The Black Knight, Chronos from Greek mythos, Abbadon, the Minatour of the labrynth etc etc.

The major symbol of the armor is that Vader is a prisoner of a system, the system of the ever corrupting Empire.

Also, the armor represents that Vader is more machine than man, where Luke is more man than machine(the hand). Vader is evil with a remaining potential for good, where Luke is good with a potential for evil.

 

Then Grievous mujst have even less potential - he is even more machin than ... living being.

But on the other side, the Emperor is the opposite ... he has no machines in connection.