"you feel a noble being, protecting something, while in reality, you become a scourge that controls through fear. It’s worse, because one does not recognize their evil, nor do they acknowledge it, forever believing they are noble crusaders" That's a very interesting point. Attachment is indeed a feature of the dark side, but unlike hate, as you mention, it's not exactly a feature that appears immediately as something bad, especially not to the person in question themselves.

That reminds me of a short story I've read somewhere. Unfortunately, I can't think of the source right now. I don't even remember whether it's a real story or an extraction from a novel. But it was a story about a child treating an injured bird. When the bird was finally fit again, the child wasn't willing to let it go, wanted to keep the bird. I don't remember whether the child finally released the bird for it to regain its freedom or whether it "crushed" the bird eventually because of its possessiveness. But it reminds of the moment Vader was choking Padme in ROTS. In this moment, he was literally crushing her because he wasn't willing to risk losing her

^Ah, I remember the Story, if only because I have traumatic flashbacks for having to write ‘especially’ and ‘success’ until I had the spelling seared into my brain.

I do remember the Bird didn’t fare that well, but I don’t recall whether it died or not. But I certainly hope it did. (I am ornithophibic and would love to see the demise of birds). I never connected that it was a cautionary tale against attachment, so thank you for that.

PS: I still wish to see all birds burn to death, .

"I remember the Story" Oh, that's an interesting coincidence. You don't happen to remember the source of the story? I'm sorry for your traumatic flashbacks though.

"I never connected that it was a cautionary tale against attachment, so thank you for that." I'm not sure if I connected the story with attachment the first time I've read about it, but when I thought about Vader choking Padme, keeping somebody in your iron grip, trying to prevent this somebody from escaping you, only to result in this person succumbing in this grip, this story came to my mind for some reason. So, I'm glad that you agree with me on this interpretation and for having "delivered" new stuff to think about.

PS: "but I don’t recall whether it died or not. But I certainly hope it did." Oof. "I still wish to see all birds burn to death". Well, there are certain animals I don't like either, so I probably shouldn't judge you; but such a strong dislike for birds? What about Porgs? Or in terms of real-life birds, have you ever seen a kiwi? They look absolutely cute, in my opinion. Or baby penguins. I apologize in advance if I'm being too intrusive right now, but your comment made me curious. Is there a specific reasons for you to hate birds in general?

^I believe it was in my 1st grade English Textbook, from Chrysalis, I think.

I think of Porgs as being awfully cute, but still rejoiced when I saw them being roasted. That’s my relationship with fictional birds, I like them, but like them better when they are behind the screen.

The are a few birds I consider execptions to the general rule, Corvids in general, Penguins, and Kiwis. I think my hatred began when I fell of my cycle and broke my arm when a pigeon chose to fly right in front of my cycle, making me fall off. And have you seen their eyes!? They look downright murderous, innocence be damned.

"I believe it was in my 1st grade English Textbook, from Chrysalis, I think." Ah okay, thanks for the information.

"I think of Porgs as being awfully cute, but still rejoiced when I saw them being roasted." Lol. I can somewhat understand that. They look both adorable and kind of delicious 😅 I have to admit I pitied Chewbacca when he was distressed about the moral dilemma about eating or sparing the Porgs. Though I understand that he deemed them to cute to be eaten.

"I think my hatred began when I fell of my cycle and broke my arm when a pigeon chose to fly right in front of my cycle, making me fall off." So you've developed as a child a trauma related to birds, then.

"And have you seen their eyes!? They look downright murderous, innocence be damned." I can't really recall having felt that way when looking at a bird, but I may have forgotten about it. And I'm sure there are other animals which make me uncomfortable.

But hey, the good thing about your dislike towards birds? You probably won't have the problem of being attached to a bird to such a degree that you "crush" it by depriving it of its freedom ^^

I never asked; can I share this around with others?

@Grimlord31 Sure, I would be honored :) Thanks for asking!

@SagaSeeker Okay, cool. Just wanted to ask in case I ever have to explain the nature of attachments in Star Wars, but I'm feeling too lazy to make my own arguments, lol.

@Grimlord31 There is certainly nothing wrong with seeking inspiration from others and I'm honored that you'd use my analysis for arguments, but my essay focusses more on the application of the difference between love and attachment on two specific characters. If you are mainly interested in a shorter, more general analysis of the concept of attachment, I'd advice you to check out WriterBuddha's essay I linked above which is also one of the main sources that inspired my own interpretation about attachment in the SW-universe