Separating the Separatists
In Revenge of the Sith, the Separatists have three main leaders, each one corresponding to a part of the tripartite soul as it is described in Plato’s Republic and in C. S. Lewis’s Abolition of Man. Count Dooku, described as “a political idealist” in Attack of the Clones, is the ideological mastermind of the Separatist movement; he represents a distorted version of the philosopher-like, wisdom-loving part of the soul, which Lewis calls the Head. General Grievous, a fierce fighter, is the enforcer of Count Dooku’s agenda; he represents a distorted version of the warrior-like, victory-loving part of the soul, which Lewis calls the Chest. (Lewis associates the Chest with the virtue of magnanimity; this may be why the general’s goons are called MagnaGuards.) And Nute Gunray, the greedy, self-serving leader of the Trade Federation, provides Grievous with the financial and military resources needed to carry out Dooku’s agenda; he represents the merchant-like, money-loving part of the soul, which Lewis calls the Belly.
The Separatists may be able to hold out against the Republic for so long because they are clear on their chain of command. Per Lewis, the Head should rule the Belly through the Chest, and it seems clear to everyone on both sides of the war that Grievous outranks Gunray and that Dooku outranks Grievous. Likewise, Palpatine, plotting to overthrow the Separatists once they have served his purposes, understands that Dooku must be eliminated first, Grievous second, and Gunray third. Without Dooku’s charisma and vision, Grievous won’t be able to lead a unified movement; notice the distrust between him and Gunray once Dooku is dead. And without Grievous’s tenacity and cunning, Gunray won’t be safe from his enemies. Gunray is caught off guard when Darth Sidious sends Darth Vader not to protect him but to kill him.
All this is consistent with the narrative structure of Revenge of the Sith and with the way in which each of these Separatist leaders are killed. In Act One, Anakin Skywalker kills the Head of the Separatists, Count Dooku, by beheading him. In Act Two, Obi-Wan Kenobi kills the Chest, General Grievous, by shooting him through a gap in his breastplate. And in Act Three, Vader kills the Belly, Nute Gunray, by slashing him across his torso. After forming an effective triumvirate with which to destabilize the Republic, Palpatine systematically destroys the Separatist movement by using Anakin and Obi-Wan to dismember or disembowel its leaders.
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Characters: Count Dooku / General Grievous / Nute Gunray
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Concepts: brains / leadership / tripartite soul
Influences: C. S. Lewis / Plato
Interpretive Tools: Tripartite Soul Theory
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