Originally posted on May 23, 2006
I'm not going to die in childbirth, Ani. I promsie you. Padme' to Anakin, ROTS
No...I promise you. Anakin to Padme', ROTS
I was watching AOTC last night and noticed something: promises. Then I began to think about the PT, and again I noticed something: promises. Now, were these promises that were made, mostly by Anakin to the women in his life, made to be broken? At first glance, it would appear to be so. However, when you look "deeper," many of these promises were not broken...rather, they were kept, but in a round about way.
I will come back and free you mom...I promise. Anakin to Shmi, TPM
When Anakin made the choice to join Qui-Gon and crew to Coruscant, he made the promise to his mother that he would return to free her. Did Anakin really free her? Yes..the day he left Tatooine to pursue his training as a Jedi. This action allowed her to "pursue" the life she wanted for herself...without worrying about her son and what this life would do to him. Then, sometime between the time Anakin left and the time he returned to find her, Shmi had been freed from Watto and married a man with a family of his own. Anakin's nightmares of his mother's suffering were true, and he did free her from the Tusken's; however, as I have already said, Anakin gave her freedom the day he left Tatooine.
We'll find out who's trying to kill you Padme'...I promise. Anakin to Padme', AOTC
When Obi-Wan told Padme' that they were there to protect her, not to start an investigation, Anakin promptly responded with this statement. Initially he was trying to impress her, to "steal" her attention away from Obi-Wan. He was making promises Obi-Wan did not think could be kept...as it was their mandate to protect her, not to find the assassin. This mandate, however, changed after confronting Zam: Obi-Wan was ordered to find the bounty hunter responsible for hiring Zam, and Anakin was ordered to continue protecting Padme'. Did they find who was trying to kill Padme'? Yes...but it was Obi-Wan alone who did this. Anakin, as we all know, spent his time with Padme', trying to "court" her, his focus on Padme' and the nightmares about his mother...not on trying to find the assassin.
You're not all powerful...
I should be. Some day I will be. I'll be the most powerful Jedi ever. I promise you. Anakin to Padme', AOTC
This conversation occurred between Padme' and Anakin following Shmi's death and prior to Anakin's confession to Padme' about killing all of the Tuskens at the camp. Did Anakin become the most powerful Jedi ever? Yes...in a way, he did. During the Clone Wars, his powers grew...he thrived on conflict, in battle. Not only did his Jedi powers grow, but also did his Dark powers...it was these Dark powers that gave him the reputation as the "Hero with no fear." We all know what happened when he let his fears take control of him...Darth Vader took over for the Anakin we all grew to love. However, in the end, it was Anakin, not Vader, who emerged, allowing the Light to overcome the Dark, thereby fulfilling his destiny, becoming one with the Force. Some may argue that Luke was the most powerful Jedi ever...but to me, Anakin was because he overcame such adversity in his life and remembered what was important...Love.
I wasn't strong enough to save you mom...I wasn't strong enough...I won't let this happen again. I promise. Anakin at Shmi's burial, AOTC
Anakin made yet another promise to his mother...this time during her burial, her memorial. He was feeling regret for not coming earlier to "save" her...and did not want to re-experience this. Did he keep this promise? Well...this one is up for debate. He tried to save Padme' from a similar fate; however, he was unable to overtake Vader to prevent this from happening. On the other hand...Padme' gave herself freely to fate, and continued on through her children, their children. So...in effect, Anakin kept this promise through his children, children he did not, for twenty-plus years, know had survived.
And now...
I'm not going to die in childbirth, Ani. I promise you. Padme' to Anakin, ROTS
No...I promise you. Anakin to Padme', ROTS
Again, as we all know, these words were spoken between Padme' and Anakin in ROTS after he discusses how "lost" he feels. Anakin tells Padme' I found a way to save you...from my nightmares. The "promise" of saving his loved one came from none other than our dear old friend Palpatine. Anakin was determined to find a way to not let Padme' die. Anakin did keep his "promise" about having found a way to save her...however, it was Vader who led to her death. Padme' did die, physically, following childbirth...however, this does not mean that she died spiritually. As I have said before, she continued living through her children...helping to bring Anakin back from the Dark. She kept her promise to Anakin, but not in the way he wanted her...alive physically.
Just like Anakin and Padme', we all make promises...some we will keep and some we will not and some we know we will never keep. The whole idea of promising is something to which I have never given a second thought. Should we make promises to ourselves, to others if we don't know if we'll be able to keep them? This I don't have an answer to. Maybe the act of making promises is our way of telling ourselves and others that we want to do what we can...but is saying "I promise" the correct way of doing it? Again, I don't have an answer to this. Thoughts?
May the Force Be With You.
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