The Moons of Iego: The Padmé Amidala & Anakin Skywalker Website

ESSAYS & DISCUSSION

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Tall, Dark and Ruthless: the Romantic Allure of Darth Vader

by Reihla

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I think most fans of the Star Wars saga would agree that Anakin Skywalker is a romantic hero. Youthful good looks, charisma, and confidence make it easy for women everywhere to adore him. His brooding vulnerability draws admirers too, as does his flamboyant Jedi skill -- swordfighters are a favorite among the romance genre. The way Anakin loves Padmé Amidala, totally and completely, willing to give anything to protect her, paints him as the stuff of romantic legend.

However, long before we were presented with Anakin's story there were many who also found a certain romantic appeal in the ominous visage of Darth Vader. Web sites are plentiful in tribute to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Fan-penned fiction stories featuring Vader abound -- a fair number of which place him in the role of romantic lead. His likeness flies off the shelves in toy stores on every continent and their popularity is not just among children and boys. It is clear that he has female fans everywhere.

If your first instinct is to question the sanity of these Vader admirers, you probably aren't alone. In the Original Trilogy we see Vader assume the role of cold-blooded killer, for example, when he kills Captain Antilles on the Tantive IV or when he ruthlessly executes Admiral Ozzel for spoiling a surprise attack on the Hoth rebel base. We know he is feared from one end of the Star Wars galaxy to the other. Now that the Prequel Trilogy is complete, we've even seen him engage in such horrific acts as the slaughter of Jedi children. However, while bearing in mind these merciless aspects of his nature, I still believe there is a significant precedent for the admiration that is often directed his way.

Popular romance author Anne Stuart is well-known for her novels featuring dark heroes. In a short essay describing these heroes she explains that her male protagonists are men "whose sense of honor and decency is almost nonexistent."₁ Though I feel Vader carries with him his own brand of personal honor, his crimes against others certainly fill the criteria of nonexistent decency. So, what is the attraction of the Dark Lord of the Sith? This paper will explore several possibilities as well as present examples of other similar villains who became romantic icons in their own way.

One particular point should be clarified. I do not believe that fan admiration for Vader is based on any sort of Stockholm Syndrome -- the strange phenomenon that occurs when a victim, after prolonged exposure to their aggressor, begins to identify with him.₂ Nor do I feel it is any other type of deviant fascination brought on by extraordinary circumstances. Likewise I do not feel it is due to some bizarre adulation towards psychopaths, serial killers or terrorists in general. Those aberrations exist as romantic criteria in the minds of a miniscule percentage of the population, but I can't find any justification for applying them to the fandom that admires Darth Vader.

That said, there is one fictional serial killer with a similar cult following: In Thomas Harris's novel Hannibal, the female lead, Clarice Starling, actually falls in love with the psychotic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Despite in-depth knowledge of Dr. Lecter's gruesome murders -- cannibalistic rituals that epitomize depravity -- Starling somehow finds a way to sympathize and identify with, even love, the brutal killer.₃ This turn of events serves to make Lecter the romantic hero of the piece in unarguable terms and has earned Dr. Lector the admiration of countless women fans who seem to share Clarice Starling's fascination.

Though I don't liken Vader to Lecter in most respects, it seems completely reasonable that if even a merciless predator like the good Doctor can love and be loved, then Darth Vader can too. The place where Vader and Lecter are similar is, ironically, found in the fact that both have little patience for people who irritate them. I believe most people have been in a situation where they would have liked to be able to shed social mores so they could express their anger with people who displeased them. Watching Vader choke Admiral Motti, and watching Lecter hack up one of his captors brings us a sort of perverse pleasure for that very reason. We may even admire such men for their casual disregard of the moral limitations that define decency in society. Noted psychologist Carl Jung would probably say that both Vader and Lecter represent our Shadow selves in that they are the very person we each choose not to be.₄

Despite the glimpses we are given of Vader's vicious side, and despite knowing that he must have committed many such acts to earn the reputation he enjoys, there are times in the Original Trilogy when his human side shines through. It is these moments where we pitied him and -- before Episodes I-III -- where we wondered about the man he was before he became the twisted and evil half-machine that Ben Kenobi insists must be destroyed. These moments are brief, but significant. For example, the hand Vader places on Leia's shoulder as Tarkin orders the destruction of Alderaan. Fans have speculated endlessly that it seems almost a sympathetic gesture. At the very least he could be protecting her from repercussions were she to lash out at Tarkin. Then, when the Emperor orders Vader to kill Luke, he instantly protests by insisting, "He's just a boy!" His immediate reluctance to agree to kill his own son hints at the humanity that we suspected might still live in his heart.

Obviously Vader is not a stereotypical romantic figure. I propose that fiction through the ages is filled with romantic figures who do not fit the traditional "tall, dark and handsome" criteria, but who nevertheless drew the empathy and even affection of the female audience.

It could be argued that Vader is a monster of much the same ilk as Quasimodo in Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame -- disfigured and terrifying, answering to none but his master while being kept imprisoned in his lonely tower.₅ The equally tragic Erik in Phantom of the Opera comes across in much the same way, isolated and scarred, with the Opera house as his prison. All three men are wounded physically and emotionally, and all share the distinction that their love for a woman leads them to horrendous acts.₆

Another character who could be called similar to Vader, famous both for his evilness and his attractiveness to women, is Count Dracula. All of the various actors who played Dracula in Hollywood films, from Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee to Frank Langella and Gary Oldman, have received scores of amorous fan letters from admirers. Popular authors of vampire fiction, such as Anne Rice, can place their success at the feet of a fan base that, at its roots, grew from a fascination with Dracula to the point that they now show a cultish devotion to all these creatures of darkness.

One cinematic version of Dracula, the Francis Ford Coppola film, gives us a look at Vlad Dracul that shows him as having definite similarities to Vader. David Glover, a prominent Dracula scholar, explains that "It is therefore the vampire's redemption that is at stake here, rather than his exorcism. At root, Coppola's Dracula is a tale of spiritual exile...a circular story of sacrifice and salvation through undying human love..."₇ We definitely see those elements at the conclusion of the Star Wars saga when Vader sacrifices himself to save his son and is redeemed in the process.

A somewhat similar observation is found in an analysis by Dr. Jeffrey Chown: "We see Prince Vlad Dracul as an exile from the kingdom of God, something akin to Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost. His blasphemous rage against a Christian God over the death of his wife transforms him into the undead wanderer..."₈ Certainly Anakin Skywalker's transformation from Jedi to Sith makes him an exile and his outrage at Padmé's death couldn't help but contribute to the walking horror he becomes.

Having explored Vader in terms of non-traditional romantic heroes I'd like to take a moment to look at him in a more traditional light. Modern romantic fiction is increasingly popular and has at its heart some basic criteria for what women find attractive in a male romantic lead. In the book The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines three published romantic novel writers have explored these characteristics and divided them into eight proposed archetypes.₉ After reading them carefully, I think Vader could be said to fall into three of the eight categories.

The first, the Chief, is at or near the top of his career field. As right-hand to the Emperor, clearly Vader fits that criterion. Personality traits of a Chief include being overbearing, inflexible and irritated by the incompetence of others. The authors say his motto is akin to "Do something or get out of the way!" This is a challenge that Star Wars fans might easily imagine Darth Vader, or Anakin Skywalker, issuing. The Chief's first reaction to most uncomfortable situations is anger, something we see frequently from Vader.

The second, the Bad Boy, is a rebel who detests authority. We see this more in the prequel portrayal of Anakin Skywalker, but there were hints of this in the Vader of the Original Trilogy, as well. It was obvious that his service to his Master is compulsory when he tells Luke that they can overthrow the Emperor together. A Bad Boy may also be bitter and volatile with a reputation for being physical with those who draw his ire. In reality, his anger at the world may mark him as a disillusioned idealist -- a label that definitely applies to Anakin with our newfound prequel knowledge. This is particularly true if one believes it is a typical masculine trait to express nearly all emotions (fear, depression, guilt, frustration) outwardly as anger.

The last archetype similar to Vader is the Lost Soul. This man is an outcast, working in isolation. In the years since he was placed in his life-support suit Vader has definitely found himself alone. A Lost Soul is oftentimes shown as secretive, brooding, or tortured and, knowing his past, it is now difficult to see Vader any other way. The life of a Lost Soul might have been filled with many despairing events, so he is likely to be both unforgiving and vulnerable. As a trademark, the Lost Soul has few, if any, friends.

The key to accepting and loving a dark romantic hero falls into these three archetypes. Even if Vader has done truly evil things, as long as a reader can accept his motivations and buy that his bad behavior has its origins in duty, loyalty, pain or honor, he can be sympathized with and even forgiven.

Many things about Darth Vader could be called attractive to women. He is strong and confident, well spoken and intelligent. He exudes authority and power. He is the quintessential outlaw brandishing a sword. He wears black leather, a flowing cloak and a mask to hide his face. He speaks with a deep, sexy voice and shows the world a dark, inscrutable visage. These are things that fire the romantic imagination and women who love larger-than-life romance cannot help but be drawn to him.

In addition, women know he is wounded, which caters to the innate feminine desire to heal. Since the conclusion of the prequel trilogy, we are now aware that Vader lives forever in the blackest moment of his life -- the instant he discovered that Padmé was dead by what he believes was his own hand. His heart bears the scars of this knowledge, and the burden has left him without hope, little more than a slave to a master he has vowed to serve.

Even before fandom learned about Anakin Skywalker's humble slave origins...even before we discovered that he had to leave his mother at a tender age, even before we watched him grow and learn in relative isolation, women loved Vader for the tragedies he must have suffered on the road to becoming a Sith Lord. Surely a man who could father such wonderful and heroic children as Leia and Luke would have himself been a wonderful person had heartbreaking circumstance not intervened?

Deep down a woman's romantic heart knows that, though Vader is tragically flawed, he can still be redeemed. In fact, imagining what it would be like to be the one to rescue such a man, to make him react in a powerful, volatile fashion is the essence of romantic daydreams. A true romantic might imagine herself as the one to draw the Sith Lord out from his self-imposed isolation, to force him to acknowledge that he actually feels. In short, it is this desire to save Vader from himself that leads women everywhere to cheer endlessly when Luke accomplishes just that. His redemption proves we were right all along; our admiration was not misplaced.

Though seeing Vader in a romantic light might seem farfetched to some, in the end he is the ultimate hero of the saga, redeemed by love from sins that seemed unforgivable.

Works Cited:

1. Krentz, Jayne Ann (ed.). Dangerous Men & Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance. University of Pennsylvania Press. 1992. pg 85.
2. Wickipedia. Stockholm Sydrome. 2005.
3. Harris, Thomas. Hannibal. New York. Delacorte Press. 1999.
4. Olson, Susan. The Jungian Society of Atlanta. "The Shadow." 1999.
5. Hugo, Victor. The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
6. Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera.
7. Glover, David. "Travels in Romania: Myths of Origins, Myths of Blood." Discourse. 16:1. Fall 1993. pp. 130.
8. Chown, Jeffrey Ph.D. "Apocalypse 1897: Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula." Nov. 1994: Literature/Film Annual Conference, Towson State University, Baltimore, MD.
9. Cowden, Tami. Lafever, Caro. Viders, Sue. The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines. Lone Eagle Publishing Company. Hollywood CA. 2000. -

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