DUNE: Chapter Six Thoughts¶
And so we continue with the reading of Dune.
The Opening Quote¶
What is the son but an extension of the father?
Well, he’s also fifty precent his mother, which is strongly pointed to by how much we know about Jessica so far.
Otherwise this opening quote seems to be bringing up the question rather than giving us something to juxtapose with the rest of the chapter. No strong claims are made here. Nothing seems glaringly absent. It just raises Leto as a question. Who was Paul’s father?
Leto¶
As always, Paul experienced a sense of presence in his father, someone totally here.
I’m not entirely certain what this is supposed to mean. It’s probably something like a focus. He doesn’t seem distracted or absent. When he’s somewhere, he is there. It may also be related to charisma. He has the ability to make everyone feel like he is interested in them, that they are important to them. Maybe? There is also the possibility that as the father of the Kwisatz Haderach, he is likely close to being a Kwisatz Haderach himself. His presense in the moment may be related to that.
Leto is a war leader. He has a speech ready to go to put his mens’ minds at ease before battle. He just about gives one to his son before realizing it would be better for him to understand the danger. This doesn’t seem like the behavior of someone who is just the titular head of a military. Combat is relatively frequent in this setting.
Paul has been conditioned against telling his father what the Reverend Mother told him. Why? Would it change outcomes? Leto’s dismissal of the Reverend Mother’s statements suggests there would be no difference. Unless that reaction is conditioned as well? Perhaps there are ways for this to work out differently, but none of them lead to outcomes that are desired by the Bene Gesserit, and so they have arranged things so Leto must die?
No woman wants her loved ones endangered.
—Duke Leto Atreides on Jessica and the Reverend Mother
And men do? Also, we just saw Jessica allow Paul’s life to be put at risk in a test, so it’s not like they are unwilling to do it. This could just be standard misogyny but conditioning could be at play here. It’s such an offhand way to treat the warnings.
Like Baron Harkonnen and Feyd-Rautha, Leto is only bringing Paul into the planning now. Though, Leto isn’t making his Mentat dance for his heir like the Baron did.
CHOAM is involved in the trade of all commodities. There are lots of Houses that depend on CHOAM profits. If spice production is hit, it hits their pocketbooks, making the Atreides very unpopular.
The Duke is the spokesman for an unofficial bloc within the Landsraad, which is what makes him a threat to the Emperor.
There is insider trading going on, which gave away the plan to the Atreides. Basically, when spice production takes a hit, spice prices will increase. Houses that know of the plot are stockpiling spice in anticipation. This is how Leto knows the Emperor is involved in the plot.
Reaching out to the Landsraad wouldn’t help, and it would tip off the plotters that the Atreides know about the plot. But, we saw in chapter three that the Harkonnens already know the Atreides know about the plot. Or, at least, that they guess there is a plot. So Leto’s belief the plotters will underestimate what he knows about the plot is likely wrong.
Leto’s plan is truly ambitious. He doesn’t just want to rule Arrakis. He wants to turn the Fremen into an army that will challenge the Sardaukar. He is looking to challenge the Imperial throne. Given the Emperor’s involvement in the plot, it’s likely the Emperor saw this coming.
Of course, Duke Leto does get his wish: Fremen fighting under the Atreides banner. It just is under Paul, and it leads to the Jihad.
It’s apparently not widely known that the Sardaukar come from Salusa Secondus.
Paul has been training to be a Mentat all his life without realizing it. This is apparently a requirement of Mentat training, which… OK. Why is that an element? I suppose it get a good reveal for the chapter, but I’m not sure that’s enough. What about Mentat training would be affected by knowing you were receiving Mentat training as a child? Maybe it boxes your mind in, so you start seeing those skills as separate from your natural thought processes, making you less fluent in Mentat thought? That’s just a wild guess, though. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for an answer to that one, too.
If the question about Mentat training is a test, everyone whose met Paul so far has come to test him in some way, except possibly Dr. Yueh.
Character First Thoughts¶
Leto: I must rest now, for there will be no rest on Arrakis.
Conclusion¶
The questions I have after chapter six:
Is the Duke’s reaction to warning about Arrakis caused by some sort of conditioning or hubris?
Is there no way to save Leto, or is there just no way that the Bene Gesserit like?
Why does Mentat training have to be kept hidden from the trainee?
What wars has Leto been fighting?