“THESE MOVIESare basically
boys’ fantasies,” said Carrie Fisher in 1983, after
the release ofStar Wars Episode VI: Return Of
The Jedi. Leia aside, the originalStar Wars
trilogy has one female speaking role perilm,
their total lines amounting to barely a minute of
screen time. The cast is almost entirely composed
of male pairings: Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan,
Han and Chewbacca, Vader and the Emperor.
After lining up in droves to see it, little boys
could roleplay as the humble farmboy who saves
the day, or the cool hot-shot, or the biggest bad
guy. The galaxy was theirs. But Fisher knew
something instinctively that it took George Lucas
years of drafts to realise: in space, there’s no
reason to be sexist. “You can portray a woman
who’s a master and get through all the [anti-]
female prejudice if you travel in time, if you add
a magical quality, if you’re dealing in fairy-tale
terms,” said Fisher. “People need these bigger-
than-life projections.”
In fairy tales, it’s traditional for themale hero
to save the day, slay the monster andgain a
princess’ hand in marriage. So the early iterations
of George Lucas’Star Warsscript almost always
featured a princess as a sort of reward. But the
story didn’t work as space opera from a galaxy
far, far away until he turned Leia into something
else. Myth only took him so far. After that, he
needed a heroine and not a china doll.THE FIRST DRAFTof theA
New Hope(then simplyStar Wars) script had Leia
as a spoiled 14-year-old. Worse, a May 1975 draft
saw Han punch her in the face and knock her out
as part of his rescue — demeaning even in the
1970s. Through subsequent drafts, Leia became
more and more capable, and it made the whole
story work better. Lucas grasped a great truth:
working with a formidable woman makes his male
heroes look stronger, not weaker.
From the off Leia deies Vader, sending the
plans to the Death Star out of his reach and
passing her father’s message to Obi-Wan Kenobi
just before she is captured. She endures torture with
only a single intake of breath to steel herself, and
suffers the “foul stench” of Grand Moff Tarkin (his
bland response to her barbs feels like the product
of previous clashes). Leia sends the Empire on a
wild goose-chase to protect the Rebellion and her
home planet of Alderaan. She fails to save the
latter, the one moment inA New Hopewhere her
deiance slips and desperation shows. And still Leia
emerges notasa prize but handing out the medals.
“The story is ultimately about Princess Leia,”
George Lucas once acknowledged ofA New Hope.
“If Luke had stayed put on Tatooine, he wouldn’t
even know the Death Star existed. Luke is coming
into this world that she already is a part of. She is
the key; it’s her battle with Darth Vader and the
Empire. The boys tag along on her adventure.”carrie fisher: the empire tribute
HOW CARRIE FISHER’S PRINCESS LEIA EVOLVED
FROM TEENAGE BRAT TO BONA FIDE FEMINIST ICON,
CHANGING SCIENCE-FICTION FOREVER
WORDSHELEN O’HARA