Dark Alden

"And of course [Anakin] winds up in a completely black suit which is his life preserver ... a symbol of all the hatred gained, and the innocence lost."

Anakin hated that suit, and he hated that he had to wear it. He also (at least for awhile) hated the darkness. Additionally, in ROTS he thought about overthrowing the Emperor; all he wanted was to be with Padme. The novel tells us that after he learns of Padme's death, he's not quite as thrilled with the idea because Palpatine is the only that cares for him anymore. Then when he finds out about Luke, he tries the same thing all over again.

Then I started thinking about something my mom told me once: some people, especially in cases of abuse, learn to lie to survive. And even if they know it's wrong, and even if they hate themselves for doing it, it's almost impossible to stop.

Sorta like Anakin. Again, he hated his suit, and he hated that he had to wear it, but without it, he would die. I'm sure he hated himself for what he did, and I'm guessing it took awhile for him to desensitize himself to what he did and distance himself from everyone and everything - including his conscience. Eventually he was so far away into the dark, he couldn't see the way out anymore. And of course, he convinced himself he didn't want out. If by some miracle he didn't die after shedding his suit, leaving the Emperor would mean either death or life-long loneliness. Seriously: who wants to be best friends with a guy who's caused thousands, maybe millions of deaths around the galaxy? (And who scares small children . . . . ;))

It takes a person with unconditional love, who sees though the lies and into the hurting heart of the person inside, to pull the person out of the darkness. The liar has to be shown that there is no need to lie or pretend anymore - that someone truly loves them. That there are safe people in this world, and not everyone is out to hurt them. In Anakin's case, this was Luke. No matter what he had done, Luke loved him. Luke believed in him. Luke was willing to die to save him. And as Anakin saw his son writhing there in agony, prepared to die for a "man" that in no way deserved love, redemption, or anything, he realized this. It was enough to pull him out of the darkness. He didn't need to hold onto it anymore: he had found something worth living for. Really living. Something that gave him a purpose. Someone to truly love, and someone that truly loved him back.