DUNE: Chapter One Thoughts¶
And so begins the Dune reread.
The Opening Quote¶
In the opening quote, Princess Irulan admonishes us to remember that Muad’Dib is from Arrakis despite his birth on Caladan. I suppose it’s possible that we’re supposed to take that as reliable, but:
If Arrakis is all that matters, the book would’ve started on Arrakis.
Princess Irulan isn’t an uninterested party.
This is a religious text written by someone with Bene Gesserit, training, so it’s almost certainly trying to manipulate the reader.
It’s just more interesting if we take it as untrustworthy.
That said, we don’t see much of Caladan, so Caladan isn’t all that important.
I think the best read is that Muad’Dib is neither of Caladan nor of Arrakis. Instead he is of the test the Reverend Mother is about to inflict upon him. He is of the Kwisatz Haderach breeding program, and he is, as we’ll find out, of Jessica’s decision to have a son. Arrakis is important, but as the stage where events unfurled rather than the origin of Paul Mua’Dib.
Even if it’s not the best read, I think it’s the one I’ll go with for now.
Paul¶
The story goes from zero to, “Is he the Kwisatz Haderach?” in zero seconds flat. There is no meaningful introduction to Paul without that question hanging over him. Granted, what that question means isn’t explained right away, but it’s there.
If, independent of Dune, I asked you what a “geriatric spice” was, your answer wouldn’t be, “It’s a spice that helps you live longer.” It would be that it’s an “old spice” or maybe a spice for older people. Also, a “spice melange” wouldn’t be a single spice. It would be several spices mixed together. So describing the spice as “the geriatric spice, melange” is a rather odd usage of half of those words.
The use of “geriatric” might be illuminating. The spice can be seen to grant a certain kind of wisdom. Wisdom is often attributed to age, and some of the wisdom comes from being able to access the memories of your ancestors. So, it could be read as granting age to the user.
Melange, though… I don’t know. Maybe it’s a hint that the spice from Arrakis isn’t the only option? Maybe it points towards it having multiple uses, or that it turns the user into a melange of their ancestors? Maybe this will become more clear as I read.
A popular man arouses the jealousy of the powerful.
We also immediately get a prescient dream from Paul, and the suggestion he’s had many.
The Imperium has a class system. “A place for every man, and for every man a place.” It has meant that Paul grew up with no friends his own age. This faufreluches is apparently not as observed on Arrakis.
CHOAM is a company run by the Emperor, the great houses, the Bene Gesserit, and the Spacing Guild. The name points to human advancement, but you know how those kinds of name are. It’s involved in the harvesting of the spice.
one does not obtain food-safety-freedom by instinct alone
Jessica’s teachings set up a contrast between animals and humans. Being animal is bad. Being human is good.
…The animal destroys and does not produce….
all things/cells/being are impermanent… strive for flow-permanence within.
I tend to see that pitched as being part of Herbert’s beliefs. If so, it suggests that Jessica, and thus the Bene Gesserit teachings, should be seen a correct to some extent. This is a little odd given how manipulative the Bene Gesserit are. But, we’ll see how this works out.
The symbol for the Atreides is a red hawk crest.
We did not get Arrakis
—Lady Jessica
The Reverend Mother¶
The Reverend Mother complains about the secret ways of the Spacing Guild.
There is much pointing to Jessica being afraid. Is she afraid for the life of her son? She is his mother. That would be natural. Though as we’ll soon be told: fear is the mind-killer. Are we supposed to see Jessica as mind-dead here?
“Gestalten flicker” is a good phrase.
Already we’re given the mystery of Paul’s maternal grandfather. It seems a bit odd that it’s a mystery. We’re supposed to get something from the later revelation that it’s Baron Harkonnen, but what? Maybe a realization that the sides we thought were different are actually the same? That would fit in with some things from the next chapter.
Jessica reminds Paul he is a Duke’s son before the test. This seems to be her using his understanding of the expectations of his rank to help him get through the test. Maybe it’s to remind him that the Reverend Mother doesn’t out rank him, giving him more confidence in his interactions with her?
And so we come to the test.
What are we suposed to think about the test? It’s supposed to separate the humans from the animals. Presumably it also kills the animals. Are we supposed to think that’s OK? I can’t imagine we are. We’ve not been shown anything to make us think that Paul deserves death if he fails this test. Is that because separating people into humans and animals is wrong? Or is it because Paul isn’t an animal, so there was no chance he wouldn’t pass the test.
A test that is fatal when failed is not usually the sign of a reasonable group. And yet, the test here isn’t unknown in human cultures. The pain box resembles a rite of passage used by the Mawé people of Brazil. Yet, still, failure to pass the test doesn’t result in the death of the child. Granted it’s possible this test won’t actually result in Paul’s death if he fails, but given Jessica’s fear I think it’s likely he would have.
Which… that would have been an awkward situation. Presumably the Bene Gesserit would have had some way to handle it, but a Reverend Mother killing the heir of a Duke would have to have some sort of consequences. That said, the potential consequences here don’t seem all that relevant, since they aren’t discussed. It is enough to know death was a threat, and he passed.
I still come back to the same question: how are we supposed to feel about this test? Similar rites of passage exist in human societies, most commonly associated with tribal societies. Dune, as I remember it is very positive about tribal societies. Yet, this is performed by the Bene Gesserit, so I remain uncertain. In the end, my view is going to be:
Sparating people into humans and animals is bad,
Therefore, tests that do that are bad, independent of the whole potentially fatal concern.
I have the rest of the chapters of Dune, and potentially five more books to figure out what Dune thinks about the test.
The Voice is described as a whip. It’s a weapon and using it is violent.
The gom jabbar kills only animals.
The Reverend Mother refers to Paul with “sirra”, which suggest she sees him as inferior. Or at least is giving that appearance, which at that point is fair enough. Paul was being a bit of a dip there.
The Reverend Mother wanted him to fail, and she didn’t realize this before. Shouldn’t she have known this going in? It is evidence the Bene Gesserit are not infallible, and more of their order than Jessica are prone to acting from emotional concerns.
A human can override any nerve in their body.
No. There are things a human cannot override. Waterboarding induces panic. Period. Belief otherwise is fodder for torture apologists. Torture is OK because a person with a strong enough will can endure, and those who can’t are lesser. They are animals.
However, does the book realize this? Given the control Paul and the Bene Gesserit have over their bodies, I would guess the answer is no, but there are still plenty of pages for that guess to be proven wrong.
We Bene Gesserit sift people to find the humans.
Hope clouds observation.
Jessica is relieved when she sees Paul. Her fear was for him. That should be a sign of her irrationality. Given she betrayed the order for love, it likely is.
Everything in the room was immediate and pressing on her senses.
Like an animal.
He understood terrible purpose. Paul felt that he had been infected with terrible purpose. He did not know yet what the terrible purpose was.
If anyone infected him with terrible purpose at this point, it would have to be the Bene Gesserit. That points to the program breeding for a Kwisatz Haderach being a problem. That makes some sense if the book is to be seen as a warning against charismatic/messianic leaders. Though, it’s an odd angle to go for. This isn’t people falling under the sway of a charismatic leader. This is people creating a charismatic leader under the belief they could keep that leader under their control. The statement isn’t that Paul the charismatic leader is bad. It’s that Paul is as much a victim as those who die in his jihad. It is the Bene Gesserit who are the cause.
Charismatic leaders don’t happen. They are created by people who want those leaders to solve problems for them. That’s an interesting take. I don’t think that’s actually how the world works, but we’ll see where is goes.
The Bene Gesserit believe that men who turned over their thinking to machines were enslaved by other men with machines. The Butlerian Jihad removed a “crutch” leading to the development of Mentats, the Bene Gesserit, and the Space Guild. This was a freeing of humanity.
The Bene Gesserit were created by those who wanted “a thread of continuity in human affairs.” The Reverend Mother goes on to explain human stock had to be separated from animal stock for breeding, but that seems false to Paul. Paul inuitions about that sort of thing are likely accurate.
In fact everything being said there about the breeding program is a lie, but the Reverend Mother doesn’t know it. So, the Bene Gesserit were not created for the breeding program. Though the separating humans from animals part was true. So the Bene Gesserit must be lying to themselves or tricked into thinking it is their purpose. Their real purpose is tied to his terrible purpose.
The Reverend Mothers are repelled, terrorized, by the masculine avenues to the past. This isn’t pitched as a lie, so it’s presumably true. Men die when given the Truthsayer’s drug. Given the nearness to the reference to women being afraid of the pasts of their male ancestors, it seems like the female ancestors kill men. The Kwisatz Haderach, who can be many places at once, can also be both genders at once. This is pointed to with Paul’s Bene Gesserit training and his responsibility as a Duke’s heir (and also likely his Mentat training).
Also, if the Reverend Mothers are terrorized by their masculine ancestors, they are not fully human. This may be hinted at in Jessica’s animal tendencies. Though, they are more human than men, who all die when confronted with their female ancestors.
Given Paul’s ability to intuit truth, it’s pretty clear the animal/ human distinction is supposed to be understood as real. However, the purpose of the Bene Gesserit is not to breed humans. It’s to create Paul’s jihad. They just don’t realize that’s the case.
But in what way is purpose truth? If the Bene Gesserit don’t determine their purpose, then who does? Paul? But if that’s the case, then this is all moot. Charismatic leaders and the horrors their existence cause are acausal. The coming of the leader creates the conditions that lead to their creation. That fits with later comments about prescience, but I doubt that’s where the book will land.
Character First Thoughts¶
Paul: Wonders what gom jabbar is.
Reverend Mother: Curses Jessica.
Jessica: Her son is still alive.
Conclusion¶
We’ve got the rest of the book and then five more books to go. Obviously any conclusions here are extremely preliminary. However, here are some things I think I’ve picked up:
Boy, we’re being told a lot, but what are we being shown?
Are we supposed to take the human/animal distinction seriously?
It seems like the answer is yes, but I have great concerns if that holds.
Jessica shows animal traits, as do the Bene Gesserit.
Paul does not.
It’s unclear exactly who is supposed to beware of charismatic leaders, but it seems like it’s pointing towards it being a bad idea to create them with the assumption they would be under your control.
The message here may be that we are all a bit animals, and we shouldn’t wish for a full human to rule us.
I’d say that has echoes in the Butlerian Jihad, but the concern there was still men enslaving men, not men enslaving animals.
The question now seems to be, if Paul is human, is what he does good? Is his terrible purpose good, and if it is how is this a warning against charismatic leaders?