A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct
A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate
care that the balances are correct. This every sister
of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of the
life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you first place
him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah
Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special care
that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: the planet Ar-
rakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that he was born
on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there. Arra-
kis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.
care that the balances are correct. This every sister
of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of the
life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you first place
him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah
Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special care
that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: the planet Ar-
rakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that he was born
on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there. Arra-
kis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.
—FROM “MANUAL OF MUAD'DIB”
BY THE PRINCESS IRULAN
BY THE PRINCESS IRULAN
It took Frank Herbert six years to research and write Dune starting in 1959. The weighty book does not provide much in terms of exposition apart from this first epigraph by the Princess Irulan. As the reader will find out, Irulan is a minor character in terms of the plot of Dune, but in this novel, she provides chapter introductions in the form of excerpts from her own writing of the history of Paul Atreides.
Paul, as the story progresses, is a young man, “small for his age,” and about to venture into a new journey with his parents, the Duke Leto and his mother, Jessica, the duke’s concubine. In the chapter itself the reader must be patient as such details are not immediately available.
Compared to other epigraphs, especially those in the later Dune novels, this initial offering is the most expository.
What Herbert is saying is that the book you are about to read is deep, and not intended for casual reading. Although if it is the first time you have read Dune, and you don’t know what a Bene Gesserit is, the notion that they are part of a sisterhood offers clues that they are a studied society--and as a reader you need to balance yourself and prepare for study yourself. The reader is going to be taught a lesson. This lesson, as the Dune series progresses, is not about a traditional hero’s journey. Muad'Dib — Paul is intended to show the consequences of a charismatic leader. This is a story about politics and power.
Paul, with his mother’s Bene Gesserit training, has been prepared to serve the function of politics, not the pure mathematics of the Spacing Guild.
The epigraph tells the reader that this book is a study of the life of Muad'Dib. In the early paragraphs of the chapter, we also learn that Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim is checking on Paul to see if he will become the “Kwisatz Haderach.” She means to employ something called a gom jabbar. “Be honoured,” she tells Paul, “we seldom administer this to men-children.”
We learn that this is the 57th year of a “Padishah Emperor” which puts the setting of the book into a specific time, but it is not until later that we learn this is actually thousands of years in the future. In the chapter we learn that there is an “Orange Catholic Bible” and a long-past event known as the “Butlerian Jihad.” These terms put the story into the context of our own possible future.
The link between the Reverend Mother and the emperor is also revealed --- she is his Truthsayer.
The epigraph points out that, although this story starts on rainy Cala dan, the main action that defines what Paul will become takes place on Arrakis — the planet also known as Dune.
As the chapter reveals, Paul himself is learning about a world outside of his experiences too. He is as confused as the reader,
“There had been so many things to learn. Arrakis would be a place so different from Cala dan that Paul’s mind whirled with the new knowledge. Arrakis — Dune — Desert Planet.”
This chapter concludes with Paul passing the Bene Gesserit mother’s test and learning that he may be the one who can take the truthsayer drug, and be in many places at once — the Kwisatz Haderach. We are also told that Paul already feels that this encounter has awakened his “terrible purpose.”
It is interesting that in the David Lynch adaptation of Dune in the 1984 movie that Irulan was employed as a narrator of sorts, reciting a similar epigraph, which actually had more clues about what this strange tale would reveal.
Also of note, is that AS the first Epigraph in this series, we must also ensure that the balances are correct, as we have a lot of exploration, analysis and entertainment to experience.
Paul, as the story progresses, is a young man, “small for his age,” and about to venture into a new journey with his parents, the Duke Leto and his mother, Jessica, the duke’s concubine. In the chapter itself the reader must be patient as such details are not immediately available.
Compared to other epigraphs, especially those in the later Dune novels, this initial offering is the most expository.
What Herbert is saying is that the book you are about to read is deep, and not intended for casual reading. Although if it is the first time you have read Dune, and you don’t know what a Bene Gesserit is, the notion that they are part of a sisterhood offers clues that they are a studied society--and as a reader you need to balance yourself and prepare for study yourself. The reader is going to be taught a lesson. This lesson, as the Dune series progresses, is not about a traditional hero’s journey. Muad'Dib — Paul is intended to show the consequences of a charismatic leader. This is a story about politics and power.
Paul, with his mother’s Bene Gesserit training, has been prepared to serve the function of politics, not the pure mathematics of the Spacing Guild.
The epigraph tells the reader that this book is a study of the life of Muad'Dib. In the early paragraphs of the chapter, we also learn that Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim is checking on Paul to see if he will become the “Kwisatz Haderach.” She means to employ something called a gom jabbar. “Be honoured,” she tells Paul, “we seldom administer this to men-children.”
We learn that this is the 57th year of a “Padishah Emperor” which puts the setting of the book into a specific time, but it is not until later that we learn this is actually thousands of years in the future. In the chapter we learn that there is an “Orange Catholic Bible” and a long-past event known as the “Butlerian Jihad.” These terms put the story into the context of our own possible future.
The link between the Reverend Mother and the emperor is also revealed --- she is his Truthsayer.
The epigraph points out that, although this story starts on rainy Cala dan, the main action that defines what Paul will become takes place on Arrakis — the planet also known as Dune.
As the chapter reveals, Paul himself is learning about a world outside of his experiences too. He is as confused as the reader,
“There had been so many things to learn. Arrakis would be a place so different from Cala dan that Paul’s mind whirled with the new knowledge. Arrakis — Dune — Desert Planet.”
This chapter concludes with Paul passing the Bene Gesserit mother’s test and learning that he may be the one who can take the truthsayer drug, and be in many places at once — the Kwisatz Haderach. We are also told that Paul already feels that this encounter has awakened his “terrible purpose.”
It is interesting that in the David Lynch adaptation of Dune in the 1984 movie that Irulan was employed as a narrator of sorts, reciting a similar epigraph, which actually had more clues about what this strange tale would reveal.
Also of note, is that AS the first Epigraph in this series, we must also ensure that the balances are correct, as we have a lot of exploration, analysis and entertainment to experience.
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