Why Did Darth Vader Go On Living?

"Just help me save Padme's life. I can't live without her."- Anakin Skywalker

Anakin believed he couldn't live without his wife, Padme. And yet, he did, as Darth Vader. Why? After he lost his wife (and his unborn child) why did he continue to live a life of pure evil? Anakin is seen crying at various points during the PT after being knighted Vader, so clearly, he isn't comfortable in the new role. After losing everything why go on living?

 

Because later he finds that Padme now is against his desires and stands in the way of what he truly wanted, which was power.


He trades his love for power and he felt that he should go on living with that.



Plus when Anakin was crowned Darth Vader, I think he still was Anakin, it wasn't until that mask came on that he was truly the Darth we know.


Vader could go on living because he was created into a monster who hardly remembered his former self.

 

Another user put it rather well a few months back, unfortunately I can't remember who it was.

Anyway the quote was that Anakin couldn't live without Padmé, but Vader could. After his transformation, he lived for excerting power and control in every way he could. By the time Padmé died, she had become more of an excuse than a reason anyway.

 

He went on living becaue Palps wouldn't let him die..

 

and we all say things that we don't literally mean. you have a really bad day you might say oh man i should just kill myself or something outlandish, but you aren't really about to go get a gun and kill yourself.

same with i can't live without her, but i do agree with the above about his turn into vader and desire for power, dark side takes over since im sure he is full of fear of being alone without his wife.

 

All Vader had left was his anger and hate, as well as his desire to be all powerful. Thus he finds that he can live without her, because she is dead and he is now only out for himself. But deep down is the anger and hate for himself, for what he did. It's a form of punishment that he isn't quite aware of. Self inflicted punishment.

 

Vader was the chosen one. He is like Jesus in the sense that his was a life of destiny. He was never pure Evil. He witnessed great evil. Tarkin ordered the destruction of Alderaan; Vader stood by an watched. He would have been the first Jedi killed had he not become the apprentice of Sidious.

Vader had responsibility to the galaxy to go on living. But you have to remember, just like when he HAD to leave his mother behind in slavery, he HAD to kill the Jedi. He was literally FORCED to make tough decisions his entire life.

 

Because to just die would discontinue the movies.

Aside from that, Anakin dies and becomes Vader. By the time she is said to be dead to him, He's lost everything and everyone to gain the power of the darkside. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too, so to say. When padme is dead, he one of the two things he wants in his life. Padmes gone but atleast he's become 'the ultimate power' so to say.

If vader killed himself, he'd be one emo sith lord. His purpose for living from that point on is to become the most powerful person in the universe and he instills fear to the galaxy.

 

I agree with sinister on this point. Vader had only anger, hate and rage remaining once Padme was dead (mostly for himself) and it consumed him which is why he continued living.

 

Destiny. I think the Force just wouldnt let him die at that point.

 

He went on living because there wouldn't have been a logical progression from Episode 3 to Episode 4 if he had have died.

 

When you speak of Vader's hate, rage, and anger, I believe it should be made clear that these passions and emotions are the result of the choices he's had to make since he was a child, and actions taken against him because of his status as the chosen one. Actions like being told he had killed his pregnant wife.

Vader did not hate humanity nor was his journey to the darkside motivated by a desire to kill and cause suffering on a massive scale. Vader's humanity was personified by padme. She sensed the good in him even after his turn to the darkside.

I think that's why we see him crying so much in rots. His soul was being tormented. What strikes me as powerful was when he cries out that he hates Obi-Wan.

 

Haha! The way the topic is worded its like you're saying "How dare he keep on living the ingrate!".

Anyways, from what I understand delving into the Dark Side of the Force replaced his need for his wife.

 

Anakin died....Darth Vader kept living

 

he was seduced by the power the dark side afforded him. he turned to the dark side to save padme's life. he quickly forgot why he turned however. and fairly quickly. hence why he killed his wife. he became about the power of the adrk side

 

One thing and one thing only... to aquire more power.

 

I do agree that it was because he was entranced by the power of the darkside, and I believe that Anakin skywalker metaphorically dies just by the thought of losing padme as it is. But maybe it's one of those situations where after you do something horrible, you are left alive to feel that guilt and regret for the rest of your life. Maybe in all, Vader doesn't believe he deserves the peace of death.

Speaking of which, I wonder exactly what happens to sith lords when they die. The lightsiders become one with the force and become force ghosts, it's kind of a metaphor for salvation or heaven. So do the sith lords have a hell maybe?

 

I think he "realised" he could live without her before she died...

As he became consumed by and addicted to the Dark Side his motives changed. Padme was no longer his priorty. Getting power was. Ruling the galaxy was. That's what broke Padme's heart - she realised he had changed.

But anyway, as people have said, Vader carries on living because he is now a Sith - greedy, full of hatred and anger and after more power.

 

The only explaination came in the eu, the "Dark Empire" trilogy to be precise. Palpatine describes it as like a living hell. A festering wound that you know is there, but cannot do anything about it. I think they're version of hell in the afterlife is being one with the Force. But it's different as being with the Force there is such a purity, which for the Sith is sickening. It drives them to distraction and they wind up going insane over time.

 

Yes, this is why the most powerful of the Ancient Sith used to bind their spirits to inanimate objects, in order to stave off the madness from the oblivion that awaits them. The only place we ever really see this is in the video game realm of the Star Wars mythos.