One of the issues in the prequel trilogy that has caused a lot of controversy and debate is the story of Anakin's origins. Far from having the natural father that many fans had imagined before this trilogy began, we are told in The Phantom Menace that Anakin was in fact conceived by the midi-chlorians, the foundations of life itself and the connectors to the Force. Anakin's birth is a bit of a magical mystery. Now the saga is finished, we are able to look at this issue in the proper context.

Firstly, it must be established that, however Anakin was created, he IS the chosen one, and he does fulfil the prophecy and bring balance to the Force. George Lucas has confirmed this in several interviews - balance is restored in Return of the Jedi, when Anakin kills the Emperor, and destroys the dark side shadow that was disturbing the balance of the Force. Secondly, I am also assuming that it is quite clear that Anakin does not have a natural father - the story as presented in the movies, and George Lucas's interviews on the matter, make it quite obvious to me that Anakin's birth is magical, and he does not have a natural father.

I'm not going to make a judgement on whether the virgin birth is a good story decision, or a bad story decision - I love this saga, and will look at it for what it is. All I'm going to attempt is to look at some of the issues surrounding the virgin birth, and try to clarify things a bit.

So, on we go.

Not a Christian allegory

"There are a lot of Greek gods who came down (and impregnated mortal women) and then the heroes didn't have fathers. Whether it's Hindu, Chinese or Middle Eastern, all the mythological heroes didn't have fathers. The fathers were the gods." - George Lucas, Rolling Stone, June 2005

One of the reasons the issue has proven so controversial is because, from the moment of its beginning in The Phantom Menace, parallels were immediately drawn with the New Testament, and the story of Christ. However, it appears that this is not where Lucas found his inspiration for the story. He has flatly denied that the Force is specifically based on Christian spirituality, and has also denied that Anakin's virgin birth is based on Christ's birth.

The story of the virgin birth was not something which began with Christianity - it has been part of mythology for millennia, and was used in tales long before Christianity came along. In his book "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", which was a huge influence on Lucas's story, Joseph Campbell discussed several stories of virgin motherhood throughout myths and folk-tales.

"The Buddha descended from heaven to his mother's womb in the shape of a milk-white elephant. The Aztec Coatlicue, 'She of the serpent-woven skirt', was approached by a god in the form of a ball of feathers. The chapters of Ovid's Metamorphosis swarm with nymphs beset by gods in sundry masquerades: Jove as a bull, a swan, a shower of gold. Any leaf accidentally swallowed, any nut, or even the breath of a breeze, may be enough to fertilize the ready womb. The procreating power is everywhere. And according to the whim or destiny of the hour, either a hero-savior or a world-annihilating demon may be conceived - one can never know." - Joseph Campbell, "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", p. 311-312

Another more famous story, perhaps, is that of Hercules, who also was a mortal son of a god. Anakin is a mythological hero in this tradition - the mythic story of a hero who did not have a human father, and was not created by natural human contact. To read it as a Christian allegory is an easy mistake to make, but a mistake nonetheless.

A modern virgin birth

"Now in this particular case, the gods happened to be a life-form that allows a cell to divide. So it's a metaphor: "that which brings life". I don't want to get too controversial about this - some people believe it happened in other ways, over seven days - but if you listen to biology, there's another theory, which begins with an "e". If you study microbiology, you come to the realization that this alien life-form, which has a completely different DNA, helped create life on earth and within the galaxy. It's a simplified version of relationships - that symbiotic being goes through everything. That's why Han Solo joins the Rebellion, that's why Luke saves his father. In Star Wars land, all these relationships are necessary to bring forth a greater good - and evil." - George Lucas, Rolling Stone, June 2005

The theory Lucas talks about in that quote is what is known as the "endosymbiotic theory", and the micro-organisms are mitochondria. These, Lucas has stated in the past, are the inspiration for the midi-chlorians (the word "midi-chlorian" is a combination of "mitochondria" and "chloroplast", the plant-life equivalent). Mitochondria are a microscopic life form that live inside every organic cell, and allow it to live - they convert organic matter into energy, which allows life to exist. The more mitochondria in your cells, the more energy you have. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The endosymbiotic theory states that life in the universe came about because these different life-forms came to live together in symbiosis, rather than try to destroy each other. This provides a new spin on the story of the virgin birth - not only is Lucas basing it on classic mythology, but also on current science. This is a very modern virgin birth tale, where Anakin is not specifically created by a "god", but by microscopic life-forms, the "givers of all life" according to real-world science. It's a part-mythic, part-spiritual and part-scientific story.

How did it happen?

"Now there's a hint in the movie that there was a Sith Lord who had the power to create life. But it's left unsaid: Is Anakin a product of a super-Sith who influenced the midi-chlorians to create him, or is he simply created by the midi-chlorians to bring forth a prophecy, or was he created by the Force through the midi-chlorians? It's left up to the audience to decide. How he was born ultimately has no effect on the way he dies, because in the end the prophecy is true: Balance comes back to the force." - George Lucas, Rolling Stone, June 2005

Now we get into the technical issues of exactly how Anakin came to be. We're presented with three possibilities in the movies, which George Lucas outlined in the quote above.

The first possibility is the most simple one - that Anakin was simply conceived by the midi-chlorians themselves. This, if true, gives the midi-chlorians much more power, and makes them a more spiritual consciousness, which realised in itself that the Force needed to be balanced, and created the chosen one to do so. However, Lucas has also stated in interviews that the Force itself did have a role in the creation of Anakin, so this theory seems the most unlikely one.

The second one, strongly implied in The Phantom Menace (and mentioned in the official site's database), is that the will of the Force itself may have influenced the midichlorians to create Anakin as the chosen one. We're told in the film that Anakin was created by the midi-chlorians; we're told he may have been brought to Qui-Gon by the will of the Force; and we're told the will of the Force acts and speaks through the midi-chlorians. The implication is that Anakin may have been conceived by the Force itself, that the Force knew the time had come when the Sith would disrupt the balance of the Force, and so created Anakin to destroy the Sith. This is the most spiritual theory of all - it's a direct intervention by a higher, spiritual force, and is the closest theory to the Christian virgin birth, and to the classic Greek virgin births.

The third possibility, which is hinted at in Revenge of the Sith, is that Anakin may have been created by a Sith Lord through the Force (there's a debate about whether it could have been Darth Plagueis or Darth Sidious, but that's a debate without an answer and seemingly without end, so I won't get into that). It is claimed that there was a Sith Lord who had the power to influence the midi-chlorians, through the Force, and create life. If it's true that Anakin was created in this way, it would be the ultimate irony - that in their quest and lust for power, and their contempt for the will of the Force, the Sith inadvertently create the being who is destined to destroy them. Some fans believe that, if Anakin was created by the Sith, that closes the door on the "virgin birth" idea. However, this is not technically the case. The way a Sith would have created Anakin would be through use of both the Force, and the midi-chlorians - so the spiritual, mystical element is still there. Anakin still would not have a natural biologoical father, and he would still not have been created by human contact, but by the midi-chlorians, the foundations of all life - therefore, the virgin birth still stands, and Anakin is still a fatherless being, despite having what we may call an "unnatural Force-father". So whatever the truth, Anakin is a mystical creation.

The truth?

"It was a virgin birth in an ecosystem of symbiotic relationships ... Ultimately, I would say the Force itself created Anakin. I don't want to get into specific terms of labeling things to make it one religion or another, but basically, that's one of the foundations of the hero's journey." - George Lucas, Vanity Fair, February 2005

So, what's the truth about Anakin's creation? This is something that may be debated for decades among fans, because there is no clear answer. The Force-creation idea cannot be confirmed, and the Darth Plagueis idea is so subtle that it's hardly an explanation or a revelation. We have hints and possibilities, but the truth is unknown, until George reveals the real answer - which he may never do, since it seems he wishes to leave it a mystery, left to the individual viewer to decide for his-or-herself. The quote above suggests that it is probably the will of the Force itself, with no involvement from the Sith - however, if you pick that quote apart (as many fans have!), it does not categorically rule out the Sith having a role through the Force, so that remains a possibility.

Whatever the truth, Anakin is a mythological hero with a "special" birth - not created by natural human contact, but by the midi-chlorians, the foundation of all life, the "gods" of the Star Wars universe. He is an outsider from the very beginning, with a special destiny, a child of prophecy who struggles with this throughout the saga. The lack of a natural father is a psychological problem for him - he loses his first father-figure Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi becomes more a brother - only Palpatine is left to fulfil the surrogate father role, and we all know where that leads.