Han Solo: Space Cowboy and Total Conformist

I was sitting around thinking about Star Wars the other day and realized that Han Solo is the most conformist of the main characters in the films.

On the surface, Han Solo is a non-conformist character. In A New Hope, he is an outlaw who evades Imperial cruisers while smuggling goods in his ship the Millennium Falcon, ejects his cargo into space when it’s convenient, and cares little for political causes or maidens in distress. He is a misfit who exists in the dark spaces between the law (the Empire) and the opposition (the Rebellion), a space cowboy who follows no code but his own--and that code extends only as far as making some cash and saving his bacon.

Han Solo is also non-conformist at a deeper level. Star Wars is more fantasy than science fiction for the way the drama hinges around mythological and psychological archetypes, as well as dramatic stock characters. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi are the Wise Old Man, Leia is the Maiden, the droids are the Clown, Luke is the Hero, Vader is the Father, and so forth. Han Solo clearly fits into this conceptual framework as the Renegade, but with one important difference: Harrison Ford portrays him too well. Ford brings so much charisma and swagger, as well as emotional vulnerability, to the role that his archetypal function is threatened by significant tinges of individuality. As performed, he does not conform to George Lucas’s aesthetic order.

Perhaps this is what has made Han Solo a fan favorite for decades, and perhaps the style Harrison Ford brought to the role is what lay behind many fans’ negative reaction to the prequels with all the one-dimensional characters and flat acting: No Han Solo, no Harrison Ford, no personality, no flair.

Then why do I say that Han Solo is the most conformist character in Star Wars?

Because this paragon of non-conformism eventually conforms. By the end of Return of the Jedi, he has joined a cause greater than himself, risked his life for others, fallen in love, and become a general for the Rebel Alliance. He will go on in the novels to become married (with children) and a functionary for the New Republic, the new ruling order. As a character in a work of art, he is all the more conformist for having once been a true rebel.

I have always found the scene at the end of Return of the Jedi when Leia kisses him to be disappointing, because when she kisses him--essentially a marriage at the end of all the comedy on Endor--his fall into conformity is complete. He is no longer the Han Solo we have known and loved. Love and kisses, a steady job, and little progeny may be all right for real people, but not wise-cracking, hot-shot pilots who once made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

It is the diminished Han Solo that we can expect from the upcoming movies, set as they are after Return of the Jedi, but if the rumors are true, at least we will have Harrison Ford to play him.