DUNE: Chapter Ten Thoughts

We made it to the double digit chapters. Only thirty eight and five more books to go.

The Opening Quote

What had the Lady Jessica to sustain her in her time of trial? A vague proverb that sort of points to the journey being in the steps, itself a vague proverb for something like the systemic thinking from the previous chapters.

It’s not as clear how this is going to interact with the following chapter.

The Weirding Room

And there were ways to open any palm lock—as she had learned at school.

—Lady Jessica thinking about the oval door

Here, let us train you how to break into places before we sell you to a Duke. Yeah, I’m not going to get over that. It’d be one thing if she were a courtisan. She wasn’t employed. She was sold. And as we see, she is bitter about the fact he never married her.

Mapes hates the weirding room. It’s little surprise. It wastes a lot of water. Though, again, are there no comets in this system? I suppose the Harkonnens were actively terrible to the people. But, you’d think that eventually, wet planet conservatories could be a wider spread thing. I suppose that’s sort of what eventually happens. It just feels a little weird to have interstellar travel and have one of the most common molecules in the universe so difficult to find.

Our sun isn’t yellow. It’s white. That’s why white is white. I suppose the filter glass could be diffusing the light to make the sky look blue, leading to a yellower looking sun. Still the sun isn’t yellow.

Count Fenring lived in this house before the Atreides did. He does come back up at the end of the book as being a not-quite-Kwisatz-Haderach. I’m not sure his presence in this house is particularly relevant for that, though.

Why is Lady Fenring warning Jessica about the traitor? Lady Fenring is also a Bene Gesserit, so maybe there is sorority there. Actually, who are the Bene Gesserit we know so far:

  • Jessica (concubine of Duke Leto)

  • The Reverend Mother (aide to the Emperor)

  • Irulan (daughter of the Emperor)

  • Wanna (wife of Dr. Yueh [deceased])

  • Margot (wife of Count Fenring)

So, the Bene Gesserit seem to be attached to the Atreides and the Corrino households, and not so much the Harkonnens. That said, Jessica is the daughter of the Baron Harkonnen, so there has to be some sort of connection there.

How connected are members of the Bene Gesserit to the organization of the Bene Gesserit? They seem to be expected to sleep with whoever the overall group wants them too, so it would seem like there is a lot of control. Still, Jessica disobeyed without direct consequence as far as we are told, and Wanna dies without Jessica knowing. Both suggest a looser organization. It seems likely to be like a monastic order with its own internal politics and factions. Though, if true, we aren’t seeing much of them in comparison to the Imperial politics we are getting.

The room was designed to attract Paul. Though, if the bedroom attracts Paul, the wet-world conservatory will super attract Paul and Jessica. That puts a bit of a different spin on the note. Perhaps this is a trap that is more subtle than the hunter-seeker, meant to ensnare Lady Jessica rather than Paul? It does sort of work out that way. Still, I have my doubts.

Maybe the Bene Gesserit work for the best outcome for each other within the plan? Information sharing would be a necessary part of that. They pass information to each other, trusting they’re working towards a common goal? Though, honestly, the easiest and probably best explanation is probably empathy. Margot is just trying to prevent a sister’s suffering the best that she can.

Jessica is hurt that Leto hasn’t married her. She understands why he hasn’t. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. Maybe the Old Duke had convinced his son not to marry Jessica? Or it’s just the Old Duke part of Leto that keeps him from marrying her. That would explain her animosity towards the Old Duke.

Regarding the missed assassin who was bricked up in the cellar: the defenders have to be right all the time. The attackers just need to be right once.

The possibility that the warning about a traitor is just an attempt to sow chaos is a good one to consider. Obviously, we know there is a traitor, but neither Jessica nor Paul should be so certain. At some point, you do have to trust.

Dr. Yueh is rejected because he’s not a companion or a lieutenant, so the partial information in the letter from Margot does lead them a bit astray.

I suppose the light signals were used because either:

  • They thought the Atreides were too business looking at the communications net to notice signals over a different medium.

  • They wanted the Atreides to see them, increasing their worry about attack.

Those are opposing possibilities, but I’m not sure which is right. I sort of like the second option, though.

Conclusion

The main big question I’m left with is:

  • Why did Margot warn Jessica if she was married to Count Fenring?