This page contains a series of questions about my web stie and the Tarkins that I have
received in discussion groups and via e-mail, and the answers that I have provided.
Please understand that the answers are either my opinion or my interpretation of
available source material, and are not sanctioned by George Lucas or Lucasfilm.
Q. What is a Moff and how did Tarkin get to be a Grand Moff?
A. In the original rough draft of A New Hope, Tarkin was a character called "The Grand
Mouff Tarkin," and he was "a holyman of a religion native to Aquilae" (ref.
www.starwars.com). This is just my speculation, but it's not a far stretch from Mouff to
Mouth, meaning perhaps "spokesperson."
As the character evolved, he became the Imperial officer Grand Moff Tarkin. In the GFFA,
a Moff is a sector governor appointed by the Emperor. As best I can tell so far from the
prequels, Moffs are not the same thing as Senators. It appears that the Moffs are the
Emperor's self-appointed governors, whereas the Senators remain a sectors' elected
representatives.
A sector is comprised of a series of star systems. For example, Tarkin was the Moff of the
Seswenna Sector, which included his homeworld of Eriadu, presumably his wife's
homeworld of Phelarion close by (Eriadu has a city called Phelar, probably named in
honor of Eriadu's celestial neighbor), and many other systems. Some sources indicate
that Coruscant itself was in the Seswenna Sector, which would indicate further that the
sectors might have been pie-shaped, as Coruscant was in the Core and Eriadu in the
Outer Rim.
When Palpatine declared himself Emperor and beings started to rebel against him, a
problem arose whereby Rebels and other outlaws would elude capture by flying across
sector borders. This is like a bank robber in one county trying to elude capture by fleeing
to the county next door, for example. To combat this problem, Tarkin sent a proposal to
the Emperor recommending the establishment of what he called "oversectors," which
would work sort of like the state police in our bank robber example. An oversector would
consist of several sectors (just as states in the USA are comprised of counties). Each
oversector would then be governed by a Grand Moff, who would oversee all of the sector
Moffs in the oversector. The Grand Moff would oversee putting down treasonous activity
in each oversector, and each would report directly to Palpatine. The Emperor embraced
Tarkin's proposal, and rewarded him by making him the first Grand Moff, of the Outer Rim
Territories where he was from.
Q. When did Tarkin get married? (How many years BBY?)
A. Basically, whenever you want. The new edition of the Essential Guide to Characters
indirectly places the date around 10 BBY, but, as with many of the character profiles,
details in Tarkin's profile conflict with other sources. For instance, it places the Erhynradd
Mutiny (Massacre) at 5 BBY, but that conflicts with Erhynradd's genesis source,
Cracken's Rebel Operatives, which places the battle "early in the new order" around 15
BBY. Also, the new EGC says that the Tarkin family was shunned by the political and
cultural aristocracy, whereas the Rebellion Era Sourcebook states that they were at the
cultural and intellectual forefront, producing many great engineers, politicians, writers,
and artists.
To make short, the EU reference materials are highly inconsistent.
I tend to derive my dates from the sense of "history" I get from reading the stories
themselves. For instance, the one and only EU piece in which Lady Tarkin appears,
which is "Princess Leia: Imperial Servant," Part 5 of Russ Manning's Classic Star Wars:
The Early Adventures, seems to me to exude a deeper "history" of the Tarkins'
relationship than just a decade. I say this because:
1. We know that Lady Tarkin was related somehow to the Motti family, but if you read
Manning's graphic novel, the signs on all of the buildings say "Tarkin Megonite."
2. The name of Phelarion's capital city, containing its primary spaceport, has been
changed to "Port Tarkin."
3. In the dialogue, Lady Tarkin seems to regard herself as exclusively a Tarkin. For
example, in the story, two of her employees have been stealing from her. When she
learns of this, she barrels down the stairs seething, "They'll learn what it means to steal
from a Tarkin!"
4. However, the new EGC states that "Tarkin married a wealthy woman of the Motti
lineage on Phelarion," which seems to me to mean she was already wealthy--already
owned the mining company--in her own right. Yet, it is not or no longer named for her or
her family. The official site states that Tarkin "was survived by his widow, a severe
woman who ran a megonite moss mining operation on Phelarion." Not Eriadu.
5. So, from all this, I take it that the megonite mine was HER birthright, something that
she maintains in her own right, her own family is wealthy and independent, and yet
everything is labeled Tarkin.
6. And then there is the obvious, almost obsessive, depth of her grief. If she had married
Tarkin only ten years previous, during a time when the New Order was at its height, the
Maw Installation was being built, Project Death Star was in full swing, the Rebellion had
manifested as a real threat--it's doubtful she would have even barely known the man
because he would have likely never been home! And yet, we see almost all-consuming
bereavement, the renaming of everything else important to her, and the strident
self-identification with the Tarkins.
Therefore, in conclusion, I take a much deeper read on the history of their relationship
from the tone of that story. Granted, it first appeared in pieces as newspaper strips back
in 1979, but, IMHO, the rest of the EU references to Tarkin's marriage, particularly that in
the new EGC, should have been made to fit it because it came first, important enough to
reappear in a re-release of Manning's work in 1997, and to earn a reference on the Star
Wars official web site.
Because of the points I outlined above, in my story arc, I have them already married in
their 20's, just as Wilhuff is getting involved with Palpatine, and I write that their
relationship is far from loveless. But, of course, that is only my opinion and interpretation.
Still, most people's knowledge of Lady Tarkin comes only from the two editions of the
EGC; from my correspondence, I have found that very few people have actually read the
one story in which she appears.
Q. How old was Governor Tarkin in A New Hope?
A. From all the different materials out there, I've found that the best way to answer this
question is with a range, and I would set that range at 55-57, not the commonly accepted
64, which was actually Peter Cushing's age at the time of filming.
Most of the timelines on the net base Tarkin's age on Peter Cushing's age in 1977, which
was 64. However, Cushing's scenes were actually shot very early in production back in
1975, when he was only 62.
I tend to write Tarkin a bit younger than that. At the time of the Battle of Yavin, I have him
at 56. This works well in my story arc, and also because of the "official" establishment of
Obi-Wan Kenobi's age at 57 when Vader kills him. To me, Kenobi looks and acts older
than Tarkin.
Also, remember the scene in A New Hope between Vader and Tarkin when Vader tells
the Governor that Kenobi is aboard the Death Star? Tarkin comments, "Surely he must
be dead by now." Well, Tarkin's not "dead by now," indicating that Kenobi is older than
the Grand Moff.
Continuity of the EU timeline, as well as Tarkin's physical appearance, won't allow for him
to be much younger than 55, and, because he can't be older than Kenobi, who is 57
during ANH, I get 56.
Still, some have argued with me, Tarkin looks much older than 56. Many other fanfic
writers have placed him well into his seventies. Now we know that age range won't work,
but how do we explain the aged appearance? Well, take a look at Palpatine! Even though
Tarkin is not Force-sensitive, recall that Kenobi tells Luke that the Force is in all living
things; "it surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together." However, not
everyone can perceive and use it. Now recall that for decades Tarkin has been around
nothing but negativity and both Sith. Finally, in the EU it is established that use of the
Dark Side ages and debilitates the user, hence Palpatine's use of clones. In my story arc,
then, this exposure to all that negative energy is why Tarkin looks ten to fifteen years
older than he really is.
Q. What does the name "Tarkin" mean? Where did George Lucas
get it?
A. I cannot speak for Mr. Lucas in that I do not know where he found the name or why he
selected it for this character.
However, quite simply, "Tarkin" is a real last name, just like Solo, Lars, Bast, Veers, and
Volz. During my many net searches, I have also seen "Tarkin" used as a first name (back
in the 1800s on some genealogy charts) and as a town name.
I have also found two possible connections from which Lucas might have chosen the
name. First, in the Catholic tradition, there really is a St. Tarkin. According to the official
Star Wars site, in the original rough draft of A New Hope, the character of Tarkin was
initially "a holyman of a religion native to Aquilae." A very different character indeed! Now
naturally, members of the Catholic church would be justifiably abhorred if Lucas had
indeed named such a villainous character for one of their saints! I very, very seriously
doubt that this is what happened. Instead, what may have happened is that in the
beginning the character was to have had some religious symbolism. Then, Lucas
changed the character, but did not change the name.
My second speculation is probably much more plausible, if Lucas dug into history at all
for a meaning for the name. The Tarquin Dynasties were a clan of the Etruscan
aristocracy (pre-Rome) known for their conquests. It's not a far stretch from Tarquin to
Tarkin. Also, the Rebellion Era Sourcebook notes that the Tarkin family was good at
spearheading galactic exploration, and thus was awarded the territory of the Eriadu
system.
Q. Of all the characters in the Star Wars saga, why do you write
about Grand Moff Tarkin, especially in such a positive light?
"Oh, Tarkin! If ever there was a shred of humanity in you or these twisted creatures of
yours, it's dead now! You are at war with life itself!"
--Princess Leia Organa, Star Wars Radio Drama
" . . . a character with no redeeming qualities."
--Jenny Dare, Fellow Tarkin Fan Fiction Author
A. To be quite succinct, Governor Tarkin and I have some similar personality
traits--antisocial, untrusting, calculating, controlling, and, yes, sometimes violent. Hence, I
identified with the character immediately upon encountering him in 1977.
I was born with an eye condition called congenital nystagmus which has made me legally
blind. When I was a child, my family did not have the resources to send me away to one
of the many special residential schools for blind youngsters. Instead, I had to attend the
local elementary school in my neighborhood. Because this happened decades ago, well
before the concept of mainstreaming challenged children in regular public schools, I
found myself bullied, rejected, harassed, and even physically assaulted (beaten up) at
school over a period of six years before any intervention took place. By that time, I had
developed a secondary illness now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
PTSD makes a person afraid of other people and unable to trust anyone. This illness
also causes something called "social numbing," which is a type of desensitization to
feelings and events that most people without this illness might find emotionally disturbing,
such as the suffering of others. People with PTSD also tend to be very angry, even
violent sometimes, and have a high need to be in control. Is this starting to sound like a
certain Star Wars character we all know?
Like Grand Moff Tarkin, I am a very angry person who strives to be in control. I can be
dangerous and violent at times, just like him. But, fortunately for those around me, I have
learned to use writing and a character with whom I strongly identify as an outlet for my
anger and frustration instead of actually hurting other people in real life.
So, you might ask, does Grand Moff Tarkin have PTSD? Is that why he blew up Alderaan
and ordered Princess Leia executed? Probably not. I very seriously doubt George Lucas
created him with that illness in mind. In fact, PTSD was not even recognized as a disease
until 1980, and, after all, it's an Earth disease.
However, I would argue that for the character to ultimately make sense as he is
developed in the Expanded Universe, something must have happened to him--something
bad--something maybe not unlike what happened to me. Perhaps he developed some
emotional problems after being rejected because of his frail physique, because his little
brother was always trying to be better than him, or because of his Outer Rim heritage.
That's sort of like being a "redneck" here on Earth. Or, maybe Palpatine did something
really awful to him when he was a young man.
In any case, in real life or in fiction, if we treat others badly, sometimes those people we
have wronged come back to hurt us. If we are not careful, we can very easily make
monsters of our own peers by being hurtful and hateful to them. And then, some of those
"monsters" come back on society with guns and other types of real life violence instead of
with just a web site. Let's be kind to each other, shall we? Let's affirm to be tolerant of
each other's differences. We can then crush hatred and violence with one swift stroke!
received in discussion groups and via e-mail, and the answers that I have provided.
Please understand that the answers are either my opinion or my interpretation of
available source material, and are not sanctioned by George Lucas or Lucasfilm.
Q. What is a Moff and how did Tarkin get to be a Grand Moff?
A. In the original rough draft of A New Hope, Tarkin was a character called "The Grand
Mouff Tarkin," and he was "a holyman of a religion native to Aquilae" (ref.
www.starwars.com). This is just my speculation, but it's not a far stretch from Mouff to
Mouth, meaning perhaps "spokesperson."
As the character evolved, he became the Imperial officer Grand Moff Tarkin. In the GFFA,
a Moff is a sector governor appointed by the Emperor. As best I can tell so far from the
prequels, Moffs are not the same thing as Senators. It appears that the Moffs are the
Emperor's self-appointed governors, whereas the Senators remain a sectors' elected
representatives.
A sector is comprised of a series of star systems. For example, Tarkin was the Moff of the
Seswenna Sector, which included his homeworld of Eriadu, presumably his wife's
homeworld of Phelarion close by (Eriadu has a city called Phelar, probably named in
honor of Eriadu's celestial neighbor), and many other systems. Some sources indicate
that Coruscant itself was in the Seswenna Sector, which would indicate further that the
sectors might have been pie-shaped, as Coruscant was in the Core and Eriadu in the
Outer Rim.
When Palpatine declared himself Emperor and beings started to rebel against him, a
problem arose whereby Rebels and other outlaws would elude capture by flying across
sector borders. This is like a bank robber in one county trying to elude capture by fleeing
to the county next door, for example. To combat this problem, Tarkin sent a proposal to
the Emperor recommending the establishment of what he called "oversectors," which
would work sort of like the state police in our bank robber example. An oversector would
consist of several sectors (just as states in the USA are comprised of counties). Each
oversector would then be governed by a Grand Moff, who would oversee all of the sector
Moffs in the oversector. The Grand Moff would oversee putting down treasonous activity
in each oversector, and each would report directly to Palpatine. The Emperor embraced
Tarkin's proposal, and rewarded him by making him the first Grand Moff, of the Outer Rim
Territories where he was from.
Q. When did Tarkin get married? (How many years BBY?)
A. Basically, whenever you want. The new edition of the Essential Guide to Characters
indirectly places the date around 10 BBY, but, as with many of the character profiles,
details in Tarkin's profile conflict with other sources. For instance, it places the Erhynradd
Mutiny (Massacre) at 5 BBY, but that conflicts with Erhynradd's genesis source,
Cracken's Rebel Operatives, which places the battle "early in the new order" around 15
BBY. Also, the new EGC says that the Tarkin family was shunned by the political and
cultural aristocracy, whereas the Rebellion Era Sourcebook states that they were at the
cultural and intellectual forefront, producing many great engineers, politicians, writers,
and artists.
To make short, the EU reference materials are highly inconsistent.
I tend to derive my dates from the sense of "history" I get from reading the stories
themselves. For instance, the one and only EU piece in which Lady Tarkin appears,
which is "Princess Leia: Imperial Servant," Part 5 of Russ Manning's Classic Star Wars:
The Early Adventures, seems to me to exude a deeper "history" of the Tarkins'
relationship than just a decade. I say this because:
1. We know that Lady Tarkin was related somehow to the Motti family, but if you read
Manning's graphic novel, the signs on all of the buildings say "Tarkin Megonite."
2. The name of Phelarion's capital city, containing its primary spaceport, has been
changed to "Port Tarkin."
3. In the dialogue, Lady Tarkin seems to regard herself as exclusively a Tarkin. For
example, in the story, two of her employees have been stealing from her. When she
learns of this, she barrels down the stairs seething, "They'll learn what it means to steal
from a Tarkin!"
4. However, the new EGC states that "Tarkin married a wealthy woman of the Motti
lineage on Phelarion," which seems to me to mean she was already wealthy--already
owned the mining company--in her own right. Yet, it is not or no longer named for her or
her family. The official site states that Tarkin "was survived by his widow, a severe
woman who ran a megonite moss mining operation on Phelarion." Not Eriadu.
5. So, from all this, I take it that the megonite mine was HER birthright, something that
she maintains in her own right, her own family is wealthy and independent, and yet
everything is labeled Tarkin.
6. And then there is the obvious, almost obsessive, depth of her grief. If she had married
Tarkin only ten years previous, during a time when the New Order was at its height, the
Maw Installation was being built, Project Death Star was in full swing, the Rebellion had
manifested as a real threat--it's doubtful she would have even barely known the man
because he would have likely never been home! And yet, we see almost all-consuming
bereavement, the renaming of everything else important to her, and the strident
self-identification with the Tarkins.
Therefore, in conclusion, I take a much deeper read on the history of their relationship
from the tone of that story. Granted, it first appeared in pieces as newspaper strips back
in 1979, but, IMHO, the rest of the EU references to Tarkin's marriage, particularly that in
the new EGC, should have been made to fit it because it came first, important enough to
reappear in a re-release of Manning's work in 1997, and to earn a reference on the Star
Wars official web site.
Because of the points I outlined above, in my story arc, I have them already married in
their 20's, just as Wilhuff is getting involved with Palpatine, and I write that their
relationship is far from loveless. But, of course, that is only my opinion and interpretation.
Still, most people's knowledge of Lady Tarkin comes only from the two editions of the
EGC; from my correspondence, I have found that very few people have actually read the
one story in which she appears.
Q. How old was Governor Tarkin in A New Hope?
A. From all the different materials out there, I've found that the best way to answer this
question is with a range, and I would set that range at 55-57, not the commonly accepted
64, which was actually Peter Cushing's age at the time of filming.
Most of the timelines on the net base Tarkin's age on Peter Cushing's age in 1977, which
was 64. However, Cushing's scenes were actually shot very early in production back in
1975, when he was only 62.
I tend to write Tarkin a bit younger than that. At the time of the Battle of Yavin, I have him
at 56. This works well in my story arc, and also because of the "official" establishment of
Obi-Wan Kenobi's age at 57 when Vader kills him. To me, Kenobi looks and acts older
than Tarkin.
Also, remember the scene in A New Hope between Vader and Tarkin when Vader tells
the Governor that Kenobi is aboard the Death Star? Tarkin comments, "Surely he must
be dead by now." Well, Tarkin's not "dead by now," indicating that Kenobi is older than
the Grand Moff.
Continuity of the EU timeline, as well as Tarkin's physical appearance, won't allow for him
to be much younger than 55, and, because he can't be older than Kenobi, who is 57
during ANH, I get 56.
Still, some have argued with me, Tarkin looks much older than 56. Many other fanfic
writers have placed him well into his seventies. Now we know that age range won't work,
but how do we explain the aged appearance? Well, take a look at Palpatine! Even though
Tarkin is not Force-sensitive, recall that Kenobi tells Luke that the Force is in all living
things; "it surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together." However, not
everyone can perceive and use it. Now recall that for decades Tarkin has been around
nothing but negativity and both Sith. Finally, in the EU it is established that use of the
Dark Side ages and debilitates the user, hence Palpatine's use of clones. In my story arc,
then, this exposure to all that negative energy is why Tarkin looks ten to fifteen years
older than he really is.
Q. What does the name "Tarkin" mean? Where did George Lucas
get it?
A. I cannot speak for Mr. Lucas in that I do not know where he found the name or why he
selected it for this character.
However, quite simply, "Tarkin" is a real last name, just like Solo, Lars, Bast, Veers, and
Volz. During my many net searches, I have also seen "Tarkin" used as a first name (back
in the 1800s on some genealogy charts) and as a town name.
I have also found two possible connections from which Lucas might have chosen the
name. First, in the Catholic tradition, there really is a St. Tarkin. According to the official
Star Wars site, in the original rough draft of A New Hope, the character of Tarkin was
initially "a holyman of a religion native to Aquilae." A very different character indeed! Now
naturally, members of the Catholic church would be justifiably abhorred if Lucas had
indeed named such a villainous character for one of their saints! I very, very seriously
doubt that this is what happened. Instead, what may have happened is that in the
beginning the character was to have had some religious symbolism. Then, Lucas
changed the character, but did not change the name.
My second speculation is probably much more plausible, if Lucas dug into history at all
for a meaning for the name. The Tarquin Dynasties were a clan of the Etruscan
aristocracy (pre-Rome) known for their conquests. It's not a far stretch from Tarquin to
Tarkin. Also, the Rebellion Era Sourcebook notes that the Tarkin family was good at
spearheading galactic exploration, and thus was awarded the territory of the Eriadu
system.
Q. Of all the characters in the Star Wars saga, why do you write
about Grand Moff Tarkin, especially in such a positive light?
"Oh, Tarkin! If ever there was a shred of humanity in you or these twisted creatures of
yours, it's dead now! You are at war with life itself!"
--Princess Leia Organa, Star Wars Radio Drama
" . . . a character with no redeeming qualities."
--Jenny Dare, Fellow Tarkin Fan Fiction Author
A. To be quite succinct, Governor Tarkin and I have some similar personality
traits--antisocial, untrusting, calculating, controlling, and, yes, sometimes violent. Hence, I
identified with the character immediately upon encountering him in 1977.
I was born with an eye condition called congenital nystagmus which has made me legally
blind. When I was a child, my family did not have the resources to send me away to one
of the many special residential schools for blind youngsters. Instead, I had to attend the
local elementary school in my neighborhood. Because this happened decades ago, well
before the concept of mainstreaming challenged children in regular public schools, I
found myself bullied, rejected, harassed, and even physically assaulted (beaten up) at
school over a period of six years before any intervention took place. By that time, I had
developed a secondary illness now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
PTSD makes a person afraid of other people and unable to trust anyone. This illness
also causes something called "social numbing," which is a type of desensitization to
feelings and events that most people without this illness might find emotionally disturbing,
such as the suffering of others. People with PTSD also tend to be very angry, even
violent sometimes, and have a high need to be in control. Is this starting to sound like a
certain Star Wars character we all know?
Like Grand Moff Tarkin, I am a very angry person who strives to be in control. I can be
dangerous and violent at times, just like him. But, fortunately for those around me, I have
learned to use writing and a character with whom I strongly identify as an outlet for my
anger and frustration instead of actually hurting other people in real life.
So, you might ask, does Grand Moff Tarkin have PTSD? Is that why he blew up Alderaan
and ordered Princess Leia executed? Probably not. I very seriously doubt George Lucas
created him with that illness in mind. In fact, PTSD was not even recognized as a disease
until 1980, and, after all, it's an Earth disease.
However, I would argue that for the character to ultimately make sense as he is
developed in the Expanded Universe, something must have happened to him--something
bad--something maybe not unlike what happened to me. Perhaps he developed some
emotional problems after being rejected because of his frail physique, because his little
brother was always trying to be better than him, or because of his Outer Rim heritage.
That's sort of like being a "redneck" here on Earth. Or, maybe Palpatine did something
really awful to him when he was a young man.
In any case, in real life or in fiction, if we treat others badly, sometimes those people we
have wronged come back to hurt us. If we are not careful, we can very easily make
monsters of our own peers by being hurtful and hateful to them. And then, some of those
"monsters" come back on society with guns and other types of real life violence instead of
with just a web site. Let's be kind to each other, shall we? Let's affirm to be tolerant of
each other's differences. We can then crush hatred and violence with one swift stroke!
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