Star Wars: The High Republic Sheds New Light on the Force and Love Among Jedi
The new novel Light of the Jedi, which is part of the Star Wars: The High Republic project, deals with the subject of the Force from an interesting angle. Moreover, the author of the book told something about mutual exclusion of love and excessive attachment.
- At the beginning of January, the novel Star Wars: Light of the Jedi was published as part of The High Republic project;
- It deals with the theme of the Force in a very brave and artistic way, and the author of the book, Charles Soule, also explained how love works among Jedi knights.
On January 5, 2021 Charles Soule's book, which is one of the first elements of The High Republic, was published. We are talking about Light of the Jedi, which is a canonical novel telling the story of Avar Kriss - a Jedi knight of whose life not much was told until now. The work receives positive reviews - attention is drawn especially to the author's nice writing style and his understanding of the Star Wars universe. Among other things, the Force and the fact that despite its single source, it can be perceived and felt in many different ways is described in a very convincing way. We read:
"What Avar Kriss heard as a song, Elzar Mann saw as a deep, endless, storm-tossed sea. The Wookiee Burryaga was a single leaf on a gigantic tree with deep-dug roots and sky-high limbs. Douglas Sunvale saw the Force as a huge, interlocked set of gears, made of an endless variety of materials from crystal to bone. Bell Zettifar danced with fire. Loden Greatstorm danced with the wind... All of the Jedi were the Force, and the Force was all of them.".
Soule isn't afraid to touch on philosophical and social themes important to the universe. He also tried to clarify his point of view on the world of Star Wars in an interview for Polygon. In it, he explains his view on love among the Jedi and why it is good, but only in healthy amounts:
"The rules that exist in the prequel trilogy still exists. They still take the same vows, they still have the same feelings about it, but their understanding of the strength of the Order and flexibility within the Order and the interpretation of those rules... they’re more diffuse, I would say. (...) The Jedi understand its importance and understand how it matters to the universe, and matters to the relationships of the vast majority of people. This is going to a place I did not expect this interview to go, but like love, in some ways, it’s also about letting go. It’s about letting people be who they are and supporting them through that journey, which is the opposite of attachment. And so I think it’s very easy for a Jedi to love, it’s just you have to love without being controlling and love without being afraid of losing somebody, which is something Jedi are good at, and Sith are bad at."
These aren't the typically obvious themes we've come to expect from Star Wars, but let's enjoy and perspective on how the creators are trying to develop the universe right alongside the action-packed and nostalgia-filled The Mandalorian. Rian Johnson also tackled similar themes as Soule in The Last Jedi, but unfortunately, the film met with criticism from a large portion of fans. Light of the Jedi is available here, for example.
