The most dynamic relationship in all three films, however, is that between Luke and the man who he discovers to be his father, Darth Vader. Even before they meet, they are each able to sense the other's presence. Vader recognizes Luke as a powerful threat to his position, even if he does not at first realize that this is the son he has not yet met. Luke is simultaneously fascinated by Vader and repulsed by him, not merely because Vader represents the corruption of the powers Luke is only beginning to sense in himself. The first time he feels Vader's closeness he says, "I shouldn't have come" (Lucas), but he really has no more choice in the matter than did Oedipus meeting his father on that remote mountain path.Gilbert Grape, in Peter Hedges' What's Eating Gilbert Grape, has no father figures to give him guidance except for the benign watchfulness of his boss, Mr. Lamson, who is an ineffectual substitute for the man Gilbert lost in second grade. Gilbert's father, Albert, hung himself in the basement one day, and Gilbert's life has never been the same. Hedges uses elements of the Oedipus myth in very different ways to tell his story, but these elements help his account to resonate as clearly as Lucas'. Gilbert appears to believe that, had he been less frail, less human, he could have saved his father, since he knew something was very wrong, despite all the evidence to the contrary. In the second film, Luke is beginning to learn how to master his power and finding out more about his mortal enemy, Darth Vader. He is also discovering his real relationship to Princess Leia. Drawn to her romantically, he now finds out that she is taboo, since she is his twin sister. In this version of the story, Leia stands in for Jocasta; Luke's real mother is given little attention, but the incest theme is still used powerfully in the brother-sister relationship. Luke is at first horrified to discover that he has considered making love to his own sister. Later, he reali |
