Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bloo - Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back





In the Star Wars Trilogy, Princess Leia is both the Goddess as the Temptress figure.
In Joseph Campbell's explanation about the Goddess, the hero feels an unconditional love for the Goddess. Now it is unclear if this is the case with Leia and Luke, but Luke feels connected to Leia (which we come to understand why in the Return of the Jedi). This connection is shown in the scene when Luke is hanging from an antenna and calls out to Leia for help. Leia telepathically connects with Luke and orders Lando to turn around the Falcon and they save Luke just in time.
However, it is not really clear to me how Leia functions as a temptress in The Empire Strikes Back. The only thing that comes to mind is the scene in which Luke has a vision of his friends in danger. Luke wants to break off his training to rescue his friends, but Yoda says Luke is not ready yet to face Darth Vader and that if Luke decides to go he could bring his friends in danger. However, despite Yoda's advice, Luke decides to go. In this way, Leia can be perceived as a temptress because she distracts Luke from his purpose which is to finish his Jedi training.

1 comment:

  1. His connection is biological, they are sister and brother, their bond is also spiritual. You make an excellent point when you discuss the scene in which Luke calls out for Leia as he hangs near death. Han is clearly seduced by Leia. She tempts Han to keep him with the rebels and do her bidding.

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