The Hero Without *FEAR* ?

Originally posted on August 11, 2006

Last week, I wrote an entry about Anakin and Luke being the Heros of their time. I mentioned how Anakin became known as the *Hero Without Fear* because of his heroic and courageous acts during the Clone Wars. A comment made by JediPug1 got me to thinking...how could this Hero without fear have fallen, and fallen so hard? I had mentioned in the entry that Anakin's personal fears got the better of him, and he could no longer think straight. He allowed Palpatine to manipulate his mind into thinking that his fear of losing Padme' would come to pass unless he became his apprentice. JP1's comment was: *I love Anakin dearly, but he was definitely a hero with lot's of fear, and it was his undoing.* I found myself agreeing with this and could not let it go...so here we are. 

I sense great fear in you. Yoda to Anakin, TPM

To me, Anakin will always be a Hero...that will not change. The ironic thing about his title as the Hero Without Fear is that he did, indeed, have fear...and quite a bit of it. From the beginning, Yoda felt Anakin's fear...a fear that was not identified in TPM. Anakin had just left the "comfort" of his home on Tatooine, he left the "comfort" of his mother, and the "comfort" of the familiar to face the Masters on the Jedi Council...beings he did not know. Who would not be afraid? I know I would be...heck, I still am when in unfamiliar environments and with unfamiliar people. But...was this possibly the source of his fear, ow was it something else, something he could not even identify yet?

In AOTC, Anakin was faced with nightmares of his mother being tortured, of suffering. Although he was trying to get Padme' to focus her attention on him, he could not "shake" the fear these nightmares had created. He must go find her, to save her from her agony...and he arrived to hold her as she took her last breath. Now he feels alone, his mother was no longer alive, no longer able to help him. He feels that he has failed her and anyone else important to him. After his mother's death, he finds out that Obi-Wan is in danger and that he may meet the same "fate" as his mother...but with the loss of his mother so fresh in his mind, he could not bring himself to help Obi-Wan, in fear of failing him too. However, when Padme' said that she was going to help Obi-Wan, with or without him, he appeared relieved that he had someone there with him...to help him so he would not fail again.

I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. Dooku to Anakin, ROTS

Here is where the irony comes into play...at least for me. Dooku could feel Anakin's fear during their duel on the Invisible Hand in ROTS. By this time, Anakin had the reputation of being the *Hero Without Fear*...but here was a Sith Lord telling him that he had *great fear* in him. What fear was this...or was it a way for Dooku to get Anakin to releas his anger and hate, his Dark Side feelings?

I sense much confusion in you young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgement. Mace Windu to Anakin, ROTS

We all know where this line came into play in ROTS...and it is fairly easy to figure out what Anakin's fears were at this time. Mace sensed these feelings, but could not determine the source of his fear. Here, Anakin was afraid of losing Padme', of losing his child(ren), of losing the "only way" to save his beloved (Palpatine). By not being allowed to go to Utapau with Obi-Wan, the Council gave Anakin time...time to think, something he did not like to do. The exhaustion of the war, of not sleeping for days because of his nightmares, and his fear of losing Padme' finally caught up to him, and he made that fateful decision to go to Palpatine's office, to block Mace's "death blow," and to become Darth Vader. With that decision, his fate was sealed...he would be the one thing he feared the most--alone.

As I said, Anakin will always be a hero in my mind. However, because he had many fears in his life, the reputation as the Hero Without Fear becomes ironic. Had he been given the opportunity to express these fears openly with those he trusted (namely Yoda and Obi-Wan), maybe he would have been better able to work through these feelings and not feel the need to trust in Palpatine...the one who played on these fears the most in order to accomplish his agenda. In the end, Anakin's fears got the better of him, and he sucumbed to the pressure placed on him, and he essentially ended up alone...that is, until Luke entered his life.

So...what do you all think? Was it Anakin's fears that led to his downfall and, if so, what was it that he feared the most?

MTFBWY