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The Liberation Of Padme Amidala
Author : John Cosper
It had to happen. Unless Padme Amidala falls in love with young Anakin Skywalker, there would be no hope for the galaxy. No mother for Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, who would grow in the images of their parents into a Jedi knight and a royal heroine and defeat their father and his evil master. That said, it is easy to dismiss Padme ' s revelation of love before the arena battle on Geonosis as merely another plot point in the Star Wars saga. However, the circumstances in which that confession took place, coupled with observations of Padme and Anakin ' s relationships dating back to their first meeting, reveal that this was more than just a plot point. It is one of the highest moments of emotion and meaning in the entire story. More than that, it is one of the most powerful professions of love in the entire sweep of modern film.
From the beginning of The Phantom Menace we know Padme as a confident, thoughtful, and bold leader. She was trained early on in the ways of diplomacy and government, which is why she is entrusted with queenship at such an early age. Padme is not swayed by the violent means of her foes in the trade federation. Even when captured, Padme refuses surrender. She seeks the diplomatic solution to free her people and, failing there, returns home to lead them in a battle for their liberation.
Padme ' s strength only grows with the passing of time. When we see her in Attack of the Clones, she is not only a Senator, but a leader in a cause for peace. This young woman is powerful enough that her enemies are now plotting her assassination. Yet Padme stays true to her beliefs. She remains strong and brave. She, not Anakin, decides the two will travel to Geonosis to rescue Obi Wan Kenobi. It is she, and not the Jedi, who first takes evasive action in the arena battle on Geonosis, picking her cuffs and seeking higher ground from which to fight. And even when temporarily knocked out of the fight, she rushes back into battle at the first opportunity.
Padme certainly exudes self-confidence, as well as an independent spirit. She objects to the protection offered her from the Jedi in Attack if the Clones, and protests when the Chancellor orders her to flee as a refugee to her home planet of Naboo. She is in many ways the modern woman, confident and bold enough to pursue her own course and not wishing the assistance of others.
But is this truly how Padme is at her core? Just as we found Padme to be brave and resilient, we find she is a woman who wears masks. On Naboo she wore the proud, strong facade of Queen. When in danger, she uses decoys to protect herself, taking on herself the role of the serving girl. What exactly does she have to hide?
Certainly her training and experience as a politician has taught her to show her strengths while hiding her weaknesses. What weakness does she hide? What does she fear that she would guard herself so tight from the rest of the world?
To discover this secret we need only look to the one person with the power to pierce the veil into her true self: Anakin. From the moment of their meeting in Watto ' s shop, Padme is helpless before him. His simple inquiry, "Are you an angel?" catches her off-guard, provoking one of the rare smiles she displays in the story.
Anakin is Padme ' s opposite when it comes to emotions. While she has learned to hide weakness and fear, Anakin wears every feeling on his sleeve. His honesty warms her heart. She feels for him when he misses his mother en route to Coruscant. And even under the heavy makeup and dressings of the queen before her appearance in the Senate, her eyes betray compassion when Anakin comes to bid Padme farewell.
Ten years later, the two are reunited when Anakin and Obi Wan Kenobi are assigned to protect her. Anakin has never forgotten Padme, and his feelings have only grown with time. He is nervous and excited to see her, as evidenced by his missteps and awkwardness. He is hurt, however, by Padme ' s reaction to him, even calling him that little boy she met on Tatooine. He feels she doesn ' t even remember him.
This is clearly not the case. As time passes and the two begin to know each other again, it is obvious she is afraid of something. The first kiss comes so naturally to them both, but she breaks it off with a simple, "No." For the first time, Padme is trying to wear her facade with the young Jedi, driving him to try harder to gain her affection.
Padme ' s fear and discomfort grow to a high point one evening in a fire-lit room, as Anakin bears his soul and feelings to her. She listens patiently, a turmoil of emotions swelling within her as she listens to his words. As if she feels her will slipping, she takes command of the situation, reminding Anakin of their status in life. She is a politician. He is a Jedi. Logic dictates that the two can never be together in love. Her reason combats his emotional longing.
And yet we know now that Padme does have feelings that run deep. She never denies her feelings for Anakin. And what ' s more, her argument makes it clear that she has already thought through the consequences of romance.
An irony arises when Anakin proposes the two could keep their love a secret. "We ' d be living a lie," said Padme, something she insists she cannot do. And yet isn ' t her whole persona of the independent, unattached Senator a lie? Isn ' t denying her love for Anakin living a lie? Why would she choose that lie over another?
As C.S. Lewis pointed out in The Problem of Pain, anyone who chooses to love, also chooses suffering. The two are inseparable within the human realm. When a person opens themselves up to love another, they open the door to hurt. For no one can wound you more deeply or painfully that someone you love. The only way to avoid suffering completely would be to keep one ' s self from ever falling in love. But to do that would in itself be a form of suffering.
Padme is afraid of to be hurt. She believes that showing pain or hurt is showing weakness, which the politician in her cannot afford to show. Though her love for Anakin is undeniable by the time Anakin bears his soul by the fireplace, she insists on wearing the mask of strength. In effect she is saying, "I do not need you. I am strong enough to be on my own."
Yet beneath her strong facade and bravery is a vulnerable woman, longing to be loved and protected. Deep down she wants the hero, the dashing knight, in her life. Anakin ' s strength and passion allows her to be everything her career denies her: vulnerable, fragile, weak, afraid. It offers her a strength and a passionate love in which to envelop herself. And though the political leader rejects such a notion out of hand, the woman within cries out for it.
Padme ' s profession of love comes at a moment when Padme is faced with something far more frightening than love: death. Sentenced to die in the arena on Geonosis, Padme ' s mask comes off for good in Anakin ' s presence. As she puts it, she has "died a little more every day" since the two were reunited. The false self melts away, and the woman cries out to her hero with a beautiful confession, "I truly and deeply love you."
No longer afraid of love, or pain, or even death, Padme and Anakin are led to the arena. Now, they both have something greater to fight for in each other, and when the battle is at its end, the two are quick to be married, uniting their hearts and souls in a classic romantic ending.
Padme ' s confession of love is more than just a turning point in a much larger story. It is a moment of liberation for a young woman. Just as her offspring would one day liberate the galaxy from the pain and oppression of the Empire, Padme liberates herself from a life of slavery to duty. She embraces the weaknesses that are inherent in her nature, and finds comfort in the arms of her brave, passionate knight. It is the classic romance, the dream of every woman, and the story that has been and will be told through all time.
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For more about John Cosper, visit www.johncosper.com
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