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Chapter 14
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Dune, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Legacy and Ancestry
Prophets and Messiahs
Self-Discipline
Cultural Erasure
Loyalty and Betrayal
Summary
Analysis
Leto meets with Jessica to discuss his desire for freedom and the need for time to understand the unique nature he and Ghanima possess. Leto insists that he is not a child, despite his youthful appearance, revealing a maturity and ancient awareness that disorients Jessica. He discusses his inner struggle with ancestral memories and the risk of Abomination, making it clear that he and Ghanima consciously confront and integrate these memories to avoid the fate that has overtaken Alia. Jessica, shaken, watches Leto display mannerisms and expressions that remind her of Paul and even her late husband, Duke Leto. Leto channels these figures consciously, knowing that doing so will keep Jessica off balance.
Leto proves that he is a child in the physical sense only by projecting an image of himself that unsettles Jessica. As a Bene Gesserit, Jessica is trained to have complete mastery over her emotional reactions. However, even she cannot fully disguise the mixture of fear and awe she feels when speaking with Leto, who contains both her son and her late husband within him. Leto knows that disorienting Jessica is the best way to hide his true intentions from her, and he succeeds in his distraction.
Active
Themes
Leto continues by challenging Jessica’s reasons for returning to Arrakis. He confronts her with the fact that the Sisterhood manipulates her, using the threat of Alia’s downfall to further its objectives. Leto tells Jessica that he does not trust her guidance because it would open himself and Ghanima up to potential incest, as the Bene Gesserit may hope to concentrate the Atreides genetic line through such a union. He mocks the Bene Gesserit’s control, showing that he understands their tactics and manipulation. Soon, Jessica realizes that he knows more about her personal fears and motives than she expected.
Here, Leto is entirely honest with Jessica, though his goal is to continue to unsettle her. Leto wants Jessica to know that he understands where her true loyalties lie, and he wants to walk a different path. Although Jessica fears the possibility of Abomination in the twins, the twins think that the Bene Gesserit breeding program is an abomination as well. Leto does not like that the Bene Gesserit have so much control over the universe because he does not trust their tactics or motives.
Active
Themes
The conversation takes a tense turn as Leto informs Jessica that Alia plans to abduct her and place the blame on House Corrino. Jessica reacts with disbelief, but Leto insists that Alia’s condition and ambitions make this scheme plausible, pointing out the precarious state of the Imperium. He demands that Jessica allow herself to be abducted, insisting that she will understand the purpose in time. When Jessica protests, Leto tells her to consider it as an order from Duke Leto. He also tells her that, once she has been kidnapped, she will “confront a very interesting student.” As the meeting concludes, Leto feels that he has successful bent Jessica to his will.
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