Padmé Amidala
The name "Padmé Amidala" suggests at least two meanings: "Padmé" suggests "padma" and "Amidala" suggests "amygdala."
"Padma" is the Sanskrit word for "lotus." In his essay "Concerning Mandala Symbolism," Carl Jung writes, "In India, the lotus-flower (padma) is interpreted by the Tantrists as the womb." Accordingly, Jung links the lotus with the mother archetype. Jung describes the mother archetype's positive and negative meanings in his essay "Psychological Aspects of the Mother Archetype":
The qualities associated with it are maternal solicitude and sympathy; the magic authority of the female; the wisdom and spiritual exaltation that transcend reason; any helpful instinct or impulse; all that is benign, all that cherishes and sustains, that fosters growth and fertility. The place of magic transformation and rebirth, together with the underworld and its inhabitants, are presided over by the mother. On the negative side the mother archetype may connote anything secret, hidden, dark; the abyss, the world of the dead, anything that devours, seduces, and poisons, that is terrifying and inescapable like fate.
Padmé's name aptly positions her as a mother figure for Anakin, who wants her to fill the emotional void left by the loss of his mother Shmi. Padmé embodies both the positive and negative aspects of Jung's mother archetype. She is a female authority figure (the Queen of the Naboo) who exudes sympathy and helpfulness, seeking to protect her fertile, verdant homeworld from the cold, mechanistic Trade Federation. She presides over the underworld of Naboo and its inhabitants (the Gungans). Through their secret, hidden marriage, however, she also tempts Anakin to the dark side and draws him towards the terrible fate he cannot seem to escape.
Padmé's surname, "Amidala," suggests the "amygdala," a part of the brain linked with (among other things) fear and aggression. The Naboo, of whom Padmé is Queen, are associated with the brain in The Phantom Menace: as Boss Nass complains, "They think they brains so big." If "Amidala" suggests "amygdala," it is highly appropriate that the Naboo have elected Queen Amidala as their leader; over the course of the film, they are led along by the emotions of fear and aggression, which override their pacifist principles. In the film's first act, Padmé states her intention to resolve the conflict without aggression: "I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war." However, Palpatine persuades her to vote Chancellor Valorum out of office by preying on her fear for her people; and in the film's third act, this fear drives her to ally with the Gungans and mount a military offensive against the Trade Federation, surprising even Palpatine with her aggression ("This is an unusual move for her. It's too aggressive").
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Nice! I love the connection to your Freudian interpretation of Phantom Menace Anakin as detailed in your blog!