I always guessed it was a spiritual experience that helped Luke to realise that the dark side of Force is present inside everyone, and not to give in to it. When Luke struck down Darth Vader in the cave, he succumbed to his anger and desire for vengeance and so when he looked at the helmet he saw himself - therefore he had seen that giving in to feelings of anger and the dark side of the Force made him the same as Vader. Or something.

Or perhaps the Darth Vader that Luke struck down in the vision was merely a symbolic representation of the dark side of the Force inside of Luke. Basically a case of Luke "facing his demons".

Alternatively, it could be prophetic of Luke's relationship with his father Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker.

ian said:

As a literature major, I shit on your interpretation.

Natsume said:

I actually can't remember the movie, I just cut and pasted that shit from a Starwars site I found on Google. I want that mug!

ian said:

Can't remember Empire?

It's only like, the best film ever!

IMO.

Luke cannot truly confront the Dark Side unless he becomes acquainted with it in a very real way: both in the cave and in himself. He confronts only what he takes with him. He takes a weapon. He confronts Vader, the Weapon of the Dark Side, and in so doing, confronts the potential for evil within himself.

And Yoda was tired of looking at him.

namepeace said:

One of the better answers...

teller said:

oh c'mon, 'acquainted with it in a real way'

real dark side = real dark cave = inner child



can't fight what you don't see, it's all mental.
take 'dark side' out of the mix. When the visual and mental come together, things seem stronger or scarier than they really are. Your mind plays evil tricks. If you are blindfolded and someone places a taranchula in your hand but tells you its three caterpillars, its not nearly as scary. But if you see it, and someone tells you that it has deadly venom, its takes over your whole thinking process.

David did beat Goliath with just one stone, but i think he had his eyes closed

Feel free to compare this scene with other mythologies.

Step outside the box a little...

teller said:

Does it have anything to do with this Teller?

"The symbolic rebirth of Odysseus can be emphasized by the cave, which can be seen as a symbol of the womb, therefore making Odysseus' emergence from the cyclops's cave a true rebirth. The next example of the death and rebirth motif is a rather obvious one that has little symbolic inference: Odysseus' descent into the underworld in book XI. Homer uses many light and dark references to emphasize the death and rebirth theme in this book-- darkness symbolizing death and light symbolizing life and therefore rebirth."