Maybe there's a connection between the "virgin" birth of Anakin and the fact that the Jedis never tried to free Shmi from slavery? Let's say, oh, I don't know, that Anakin's father is actually a Jedi of some stature and that the last thing he wanted was for the mother of his son to have any contact with the Jedi council?
Say that Qui-Gon Jinn was the father. There's some logic to that. Qui-Gon might have done something impulsive like go out and get a pretty slave girl pregnant because he's a student of the "living Force" and, in Episode I, he does say things like, "feel, don't think - use your instincts." And that would explain how he and Obi-Wan just happened to find Anakin while they were on Tatooine - and if Anakin was Qui-Gon's son, that would also explain why he would have insisted on keeping Anakin with him, even after the Jedi Council told him he couldn't train Anakin.
If Qui-Gon is Anakin's father, then, it also kind of changes what we know about Shmi. Because that whole conversation she has with Qui-Gon about how Anakin just sort of appeared in her belly now has a totally different tone. She's not saying that because she's a complete idiot; she's saying it because she's helpig Qui-Gon keep the truth secret from Obi-Wan.
If you buy into this explanation, then, it does explain what Chefelf brought up in reason 38 in his "78 Reasons to Hate Star Wars: Episode I," how a wise old Jedi like Qui-Gon couldn't possibly have believed the whole virgin birth story. It's not that Qui-Gon just falls for some story; he knows the truth and he knows that Shmi is covering for him.
And, while Qui-Gon could take Anakin back to Coruscant with him, he couldn't take Shmi back because, after a while, people may start to wonder about what kind of relationship the two actually have. And, Shmi, being concerned with giving Anakin a better future, would agree to let Anakin leave without her.
Also, since Qui-Gon did have a very strange philosophy about the Force, one which probably kept him off of the Jedi Council, it might also explain why Anakin seems to exhibit certain character flaws that the council doesn't like; for example, allowing his emotions to control his actions.
Anyway, at least if this was the case then Shmi would seem a little more sympathetic and likeable than she is with the current storyline. But, obviously, since there was no subtlety in any of the preqeul movies, we know for sure that Qui-Gon is not Anakin's father, and, like it or not, Anakin was conceived by The Force, or something like that.
johnnycancer
This post has been edited by johnnycancer: 20 August 2006 - 05:57 PM