the sage - obi-wan kenobi
Extract
Obi wan and Yoda are incarnations of an image that has guided humans since time out of mind -- the Wise Old Man. Mentor, guardian, guru, or God, this image has appeared in Fairy Tales, Myths, Legends and stories the world over.
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Archetypes spring from the 'collective uncsonscious' Jung believed to exist below Freud's personal unconscious. The Collective Unconscious is the group mind of the race, stretching back to our animal past. Jung explains, "This deeper level manifests itself in universal archaic images expressed in dreams, religious beliefs, myths, and fairy tales The archetypes, as unfiltered psychic experience, appear sometimes in their most primitive and naive forms (in dreams), sometimes in a considerably more complex form due to the operation of conscious elaboration in myths. "
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Merlin
Obi-wan bears a striking resemblance to a more famous Wise Old Man character, Merlin of the King Arthur legends. Both Merlin and Obi-wan spirited children away to be raised by foster parents.
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In the Arthurian Legend, Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father, became obsessed with Igraine, wife of Gorlois, and told Merlin he must possess her for one night. Merlin had used his magic to disguise Uther as Igranine's lover Gorlois, with the condition he surrender their first born of their union. While Uther was with Igraine, Gorlois was killed in battle. Uther then married Igraine, who was pregnant. Nine months later, Merlin appears to claim his promise, and takes the infant Arthur to Sir Antor (Ector) to raise. Arthur goes up unaware of his heritage.
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Obi-wan has far more important things on his mind than training Luke to use the force. His death is the key element in his life. Before his death he warns Vader, "if you kill me, I will become stronger than you can imagine." His death is a transformation. Vader was Obi-wan's fall from grace -- his great error. In their final confrontation, Darth Vader becomes the instrument of Obi-wan's transcendence.
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