What Anakin really suffers from (possible spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2005)

Despite the Star Wars double trilogy to contain a range of plot holes, there is no doubt over a deeper meaning of the motivation for Anakin turning over to the dark side.
This may need to be pointed out verbally here, because a great number of people miss this crucial point of Anakin's character: there is no "logic", however, as one either knows about this human condition, or one does not.
Growing up in an emotionally cold environment with subsequent early - and possibly violent - loss of loved ones, can, in fact, cause a person to exhibit the very behavior that makes Anakin Skywalker later known as Darth Vader rage through these sequels. One hint Lucas gives us, is the emotionally cold interior architecture that surrounds much of Anakin's adolescence. Anakin clings to his Padme. Anakin's biography and his actions show that he longs for emotional support and he will offer everything else gladly: his skills, his presence, his alertness, his own health. He suffers from not being accepted as a Jedi master, he second-guesses himself as well as others. And for good reasons: Anakin is in fact exploited and betrayed by all of his friends in various degrees - the chancellor, the senators, anyone - as they all sense that he can be exploited as he is emotionally wounded, and as they see this weakness as an advantage as much as they see it as a risk. Anakin will take any risk - he is severely injured which does not mean too much to him - in order to get his emotional uproar back to normal. No one in his immediate environment - his wife, his friends - find a way to tell him upfront, that he is a hot shot but that he needs to get serious therapy first. Not making an effort to finding a way to tell him constitutes betrayal on their behalf - that is why they "deserve" their later fate. Typically for an emotional void, the later Anakin Darth Vader will exhibit a focus on technical gadgets to a degree that makes every middle aged guy's career crisis pale in comparison - and still, he suffers.
Anakin is the poster boy for a modern generation that turns to materialism, that is super at fixing bodies but sucks at fixing souls, and that may not take as much time to process emotions, love, and loss any more as necessary.
Similarly to Anakin, persons in similar situations do not process dilemmas well, they do not perform well in difficult negotiations, there is a lack of outward emotional orientation (emotions are mainly scanning the own soul), and if there is one thing Anakin longs for, it is to be emotionally accepted without having to negotiate it over and over again. He wants unconditional love as an adult since he never seemed to have it as a child. He will take any risk and does not mind getting bruised or injured - if only he is shown love and acceptance. He can not even deal with self respect - let alone respecting others - as he is still fighting to get back what he missed since the day he was born: unconditional love and emotional warmth.
It turns out that the only person to offer him the illusion of love and acceptance in a half ways acceptable way is the chancellor and later emperor: he sticks with his plan of giving Anakin what he thinks he needs. The emperor fails Anakin on a number of occasions, and that will be his ultimate demise - but again, it is typical for people growing up emotionally neglected or abused, who go through a number of losses, to turn into edgy characters with an all-or-nothing response, who will do everything for one person while walking over anyone else, as long as their expectations are met.
This is the dire reality of many people alive. Despite the absence of hints as to any ways out of such situations, this makes the movie so watchable, and Anakin such a key person to these Star Wars episodes, far more than other characters that do not deal with such problems. Yes, Anakin's body is severely wounded but that is nothing compared to the wounds he carries - and already carried - in his soul. These emotional wounds are a big motor for this movie.
If you think about Anakin getting himself some helpful support by sitting through talks with some Jedi psychiatrists, and if you think about him getting his emotional problems sorted out at an early age - all of the following drama would not have occurred, and he would have been the proud father of twins in a peaceful place somewhere in the future.
The way out of such soul traps, however, is not just to turn to a religion or to turn to some type of Yodaism. These are a mere breeze to a tormented soul. What it really takes is a psychological or psychiatric analysis, it takes professional talking, and as for all other large wounds: it takes attention, devotion and time. One must accept that a wounded soul sometimes can not "just heal" - one must take active steps. To feel one's own emotions and to find ways to walk a path with other people, to yield, to focus, to listen - that is what one must seek to learn, and it is hard enough to live through situations even then. As in this movie, reality deteriorates too at times: some people can not listen, they walk emotionally wounded, they end up getting exploited, they will become hateful and revengeful for good reasons, they only focus on themselves in absence of better guidance, violence ensues, and from a certain point on, there is no way back.