Triay - Leia as a Goddess/Temptress

In the original Star Wars trilogy, Princess Leia serves a duel role as both Joseph Campbell's Goddess and Temptress. One could argue that there are two heros in the Trilogy, Luke and Han; however, there is only one heroine, Leia. Leia as a Goddess has unconditional love from the hero. This is demonstrated in A New Hope by Luke's compelling desire to seek out Leia and help her after receiving her distress call. She becomes Luke's initial goal in Episode IV, to save the damsel in distress. This unconditional love for our hero changes over the next two films. It is revealed that Leia is Luke's sister. The Campbell idea of unconditional love shifts to an unconditional sibling love, binding the two together.


Leia is also seen as a temptress, particularly in regards to Han Solo. Leia understands the necessity of having Han Solo on the rebel's side. She engages in a cat and mouse, "playing hard to get" game with Han. As a temptress, she inspires Han to stick around and stay on the Rebel side. However, they begin to truly fall for each other, developing yet another Campbell sort of "unconditional love."

Butcher - Leia the Goddess in Return of the Jedi

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell posits that the goddess exists for the hero to act as a driving force for his journey. When we first meet Leia in Episode IV: A New Hope, she is an image of beauty, dressed in white, desperate to escape the clutches of the Empire. She is anything but the stereotypical damsel in distress. Although a prisoner of Darth Vadar, she alone takes action to help in her own rescue. This is far from the typical fairytale images of women like Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty. A goddess is a ruler, a deity, a supreme being more powerful than a earthly human. Leia remains a strong character throughout each film, and is always at the forefront of the rebellion, as a main character to the plot. As a superhuman character, a goddess, is often in control, and escapes danger time and again. This can be said of Princess Leia. She is bold enough to attempt to rescue Han in Return of the Jedi, even though it results in her capture. Even in the process of being saved, she is always active. When Luke comes to rescue Leia and Han from Jabba, she ends up strangling Jabba with her own chains to escape. Perhaps this is a visual metaphor indicating that she cannot be chained.

In each Episode she becomes increasingly important. In the larger picture, her relationships with Han and Luke motivate both heroes. Leia constantly puts her life on the line for Han and Luke, and in return both men find themselves constantly protecting and fighting for her. For example, in Return of the Jedi, Darth Vadar entices Luke to lash out at him when he insinuates that she could turn to the dark side. She is definitely an intriguing character, and it is interesting to watch the development of Han and Luke around her.

Finally, here's a funny picture of Leia and R2....

Gooch- Princess Leia's role for the Hero

In the entire Star Wars trilogy Princess Leia plays a pivotal role in continuing the journey of the hero. She is both the inspiration for his mission and a distraction from his destiny. Unlike the heroes, Luke and Han, Leia remains constant in her conviction and her bravery for the cause. Through out the history of film, women are often portrayed simply as the damsel in distress. In Leia’s case, while she may be introduced in this fashion her character grows further and we come to see the power that she holds as a great authority figure in the fight against the empire. This empowerment gives her the ability to be more than just a girl to save, but also the woman who inspires the work of an army, and who especially sparks the action of the two leading men.

Her role as the goddess, especially for Luke, is the most obvious role she plays. The audience is constantly reminded of her importance and purity as she is almost always shown in her glowing white outfits. Despite her constant fight against the evil of the dark side, she remains pure and unwavering. It is the vision of her calling for help that first intrigues Luke to embark on his journey, and once they meet, his love is one of the inspirations for him to keep going. Although, her relationship with Han is not as glorified as it is for Luke, through her constant challenges for him not to give up the fight and her bravery in their journey together (especially in “The Empire Strikes Back”) she is his goddess and inspiration not to return to the man he was before.

Her role as the temptress is one that is slightly more hidden. It seems inconceivable that such a strong and brave character could ever serve as a contributor to the hero’s doubts, but it is not by her flaws that she becomes the temptress. It is through the weakness of the hero that she becomes, as Campbell explains, a symbol “no longer of victory, but of defeat.” In his failures, Leia becomes Luke’s reminder of all that he has left to learn. While Luke has to save her from danger in all three films, it is in “The Empire Strikes Back” that Luke abandons his training and his call to be a Jedi in order to save her. In the final film he also risks his mission to defeat Darth Vader so that he can save her from Jaba’s cave. All of these efforts distract Luke from his mission and in each challenge he becomes weaker and doubts his ability to be the Jedi he is called to be.

Madere: Leia as Goddess and Temptress

In this photo from Star Wars: A New Hope, Princess Leia is very clearly the Goddess that Joseph Campbell discusses. She is dressed in white (as she is for most of both the first and second movie), she looks regal and, with the light cast down upon her in this scene, she looks almost angelic.

Leia's role as Goddess carries over from A New Hope into The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. She is still very much a driving force behind the Rebellion, as seen in the beginning of the movie in her role as executive of the Rebels' movements on Hoth. She also serves as Goddess for both Luke and Han personally. For Luke, as in A New Hope, she gives him a means and reason to fight and fulfill his role as Campbell's Contemplative hero in the story. In Han's case, she provides a search for something more fulfilling than just material wealth, which eventually blossoms into love. In this way, she becomes Han's savior in his quest for a more meaningful life and fulfillment of his role as the Civic hero. She also actually is Han's savior when she poses as a bounty hunter in order to rescue him from death at the hands of Jabba the Hutt.

However, in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Leia becomes, both literally and figuratively, a Temptress. For both Han and Luke, Leia is an object of lust and reason for competition. However, this role changes in her interactions with Luke once they learn they are brother and sister. He then must overcome this loss and others associated with his family and past in order to continue on his quest. For Han, he must overcome the reasons for his original attraction to Leia--lust, money, greed, power, the winner over Luke in the battle for her affection--in order to achieve something more pure and wholesome with her.

Cutler: Princess Leia as a Goddess and a Temptress

In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia is both a goddess and a temptress. She is one of the most complex characters in the trilogy because of the thin line she walks between these two identities. As a goddess, Leia gives purpose to the hero's journey (according to Joseph Campbell) and she does this for both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. For Luke, she gives him purpose to be a Jedi Knight and fight for the Rebel cause. For Han, she is an object of desire and goes from being a rich princess for whom Han will receive a reward from to someone he really loves and cares about. He fights for the Rebel cause partly (maybe mostly) for Princess Leia.

She also acts like a temptress. When it is revealed that Leia and Luke are brother and sister, Luke's bond with Leia is immediately compromised because he now knows that there will be nothing between them and that she can use the force like he can. Leia also acts as a temptress to Han because they are obviously in love and it compromises their ability to fight for the rebel cause. However, they are able to overcome this and destroy the Empire. Leia's role in the trilogy is to compliment the male hero while he finds purpose and meaning for his journey. She also acts like a goddess and a temptress for both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.

Lazo - Return of the Jedi

Princess Leia serves two different roles for the two different heroes of the original Star Wars trilogy. Joseph Campbell writes that the hero will have an encounter with a temptress and a goddess. For Luke and Han, Leia fulfills these roles.

According to Campbell, the temptress attempts to lure the hero away from his quest. Luke's quest throughout the trilogy has been to learn the ways of the force, become a Jedi Knight, and defeat Darth Vader, his father. While on the forest moon of Endor, Leia tells Luke that he should run away and not face Vader. She's trying to protect Luke, but he knows what he must do. Luke knows that he cannot become a Jedi without facing his father. Leia tempts Luke not just to run from Vader, but in doing so, he would also be running from the Force and his quest to become a Jedi.

Meanwhile, Star Wars has another hero in Han Solo. For Han, Leia plays the role of the goddess. According to Campbell, the goddess represents a powerful bond of love. This is best seen in The Empire Strikes Back when Leia tells Han she loves him, and he says, "I know." However, this love is also seen throughout Return of the Jedi from when Leia rescues Han through the Battle of Endor. Han and Leia's love for each other is probably the most important reason for Han's transition from money-loving rogue to a hero fighting for good. Leia gives Han a purpose throughout their struggles against the Empire.

Hutchinson - Leia

Joseph Campbell describes the goddess as the woman who gives meaning or purpose to the hero's journey. Throughout all three Star Wars movies (IV, V, and VI), it is blatantly obvious that Leia is the goddess to both heroes, Luke and Han. Both men fall for her, and it is this burning love that drives them to defeat the empire. However, in Return of the Jedi, Leia’s role as the goddess is given new meaning. Luke now feels the need to defeat the empire for a whole new reason – he is trying to save his sister. Darth Vader had mentioned nothing of Leia when he revealed his true identity to Luke, implying that he had no idea about Leia. This gave Luke even more fervor, because now it was his responsibility to keep Leia’s existence secret. If the force ran strong in both him and his father, the force must surely be strong within Leia too, and he couldn’t let the Emperor try to capture her and use her for his own gain. Luke even goes off on his own to fight Vader, so that he can try to save him, but also so that he can end this war once and for all. Likewise, ever since Han and Leia declared their love for each other, she has been the constant spark that keeps Han going. When they land on Indore, and they all split up to find the storm troopers, Han freaks when Leia doesn’t return with Luke. He is determined to find her, even if it means putting their plans on hold for a while. This search ultimately ends in their being captured and brought to the Ewok village, where fortunately Leia is already residing. Han’s need to find Leia drives this string of events, which culminates in them defeating the Imperial Military, because the Ewoks have come to save the day. However, Leia could also be seen as the hero's temptress. In Return of the Jedi, Leia and Luke are the ones who save Han from Jabba. This has to be slightly jarring for Han, seeing as he is the one who usually does most of the saving. He also sees Luke and Leia together and comes to the completely wrong conclusion that they are in love. Part of his mind has to be thinking that while he was frozen, Leia left him for Luke. This is something he must overcome, because they have yet to defeat the Empire. Luckily for Han, though, Leia sets him straight.

Michael Kuebler - Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi

As my classmates before me state, Leia of course plays both the roles as Goddess and Temptress in Return of the Jedi. Along with this it seems that in certain roles she can also play the part of the hero. This character is very complex and could more than likely have a story specifically revolving around her trials before, during and after the saga.

Leia, as the Goddess, is the reason why Han and Luke both remain in the mission. She is a beacon of hope when all else seems to be lost to the Empire. She gives Han strength and teaches him how to grow from smuggler and scoundrel into a decent man and a General in the Rebel Alliance. Her first words with her own voice are "Some one who loves you." Her role as Goddess and protector are obvious and seem to strike Han in a way that makes him rethink his selfish ways.

As the Temptress in the movie Leia distracts Luke and Han throughout the movie in multiple ways. She is a temptress not only to the characters but also the audience when she is captured by Jabba. Luke is once again running to the rescue of his friends and avoiding his training which eventually is the reason the he will inevitably turn to the dark side. She causes Han to be distracted from the mission because he wants to call her his own but he feels that she is in love with Luke. Even when Han tells her that he loves Leia, the response he receives is his own before he is frozen.

She returns to her status as Goddess among the Ewoks and saves the party from being eaten as an offering. Then at the very end when she tells Han that Luke and her are twins. Han is then filled with joy and once again sees her as the Goddess that she has become and always was throughout the saga.

Morris - Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi

In Return of the Jedi, we first see Leia disguised as a bounty hunter. She uses Chewey as a ploy to gain access to Jabba the Hutt's lair so she can rescue Han Solo. Leia is both goddess and temptress in the Star Wars trilogy.

In this movie, she plays the goddess to Han, giving him a reason to be a hero. She is the female that Han wishes to impress and in this aspect, it is because of her that he is a better person.

For Luke, Leia plays the temptress. When Luke is leaving to go after Darth Vader, Leia tries to get him to run away. She tells him that it is too dangerous and wonders why he must confront Vader. This is a test of how dedicated to his journey Luke is; Leia gives him the opportunity to run from his mission, but he proves that he is worthy by refusing to back down. Also, while Luke is refusing to fight Vader, Vader threatens to try to turn Leia to the Dark Side since Luke is refusing. Luke's anger gets the best of him, going against the Force and he attacks. Leia is acting as the temptress here because his love for her as his sister overwhelms him and he allows himself to use his anger which is a trait of the Dark Side. Luke catches himself in this mistake, and returns to the path of his journey.

Leia is very heroic in this movie. She goes to Jabba's to rescue Han, chokes Jabba to death with the chain he had around her neck, rides a hover bike, and kills storm troopers. She is a strong female character instead of the damsel in distress. When she is being a fighter, she has her hair up in braids, but when she is being more of the goddess figure, she has her hair down to appear more masculine and feminine respectively.

Leia's role in Return of the Jedi is complex and extremely important for the plot's progression.