Star Words: Episode VI, Part 52
This entry happens to come at a very emotional time for me. My beloved mother-in-law is quite sick, after over a year of enduring cancer, and we don't anticipate that she'll be here much longer. So when I write about Luke saying good-bye to his father, it hits very close to home.
Anakin's final words are quite moving. You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right. Gratitude for Luke's insight and love, acknowledgement of his daughter as well. But it's so brief. Luke wanted more time; he wanted a lifetime. He pleads with him not to go.
"Father! I won't leave you."
On one level, Luke is refusing to believe that his father is dying, desperate for some hope that he can still preserve Anakin's life. But he's not trapped in the same level of denial as young Anakin. He knows that the end has come, and he grieves. From this perspective, his words are a promise.
Luke is, above all else, fiercely loyal. He never abandons or gives up. When he felt that inkling of goodness within his father, he pursued and encouraged it and finally brought him back to the light. That loyalty continues even beyond Anakin's death. Luke will never forsake the memory of his father, his good life he lived before his fall and his final act to change and make the right choice. He will carry it with him always. And in this way, Anakin lives on through his son.
Next time, I'll explore the second-last quote of this very very long series....
Anakin's final words are quite moving. You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right. Gratitude for Luke's insight and love, acknowledgement of his daughter as well. But it's so brief. Luke wanted more time; he wanted a lifetime. He pleads with him not to go.
"Father! I won't leave you."
On one level, Luke is refusing to believe that his father is dying, desperate for some hope that he can still preserve Anakin's life. But he's not trapped in the same level of denial as young Anakin. He knows that the end has come, and he grieves. From this perspective, his words are a promise.
Luke is, above all else, fiercely loyal. He never abandons or gives up. When he felt that inkling of goodness within his father, he pursued and encouraged it and finally brought him back to the light. That loyalty continues even beyond Anakin's death. Luke will never forsake the memory of his father, his good life he lived before his fall and his final act to change and make the right choice. He will carry it with him always. And in this way, Anakin lives on through his son.
Next time, I'll explore the second-last quote of this very very long series....