Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dune Messiah, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power
Religion
Guilt and Longing
Fate and Choice
Summary
Analysis
On Dune, the Imperial Council gathers for a meeting. Alia (Paul’s 15-year-old sister) observes tension among the members of the council. As she sits down, Korba (the leader of the Qizarate) tells Paul that there are fewer gods than there used to be, and Alia laughs loudly. Alia accuses the Qizarate of being religious spies rather than divines. Paul wonders why Alia is provoking Korba. Paul orders Korba to go out to the balcony and lead the pilgrims’ prayers. As Korba goes, Irulan wonders anxiously if Edric is hiding her actions from Alia too.
While Paul has aroused fervor in the Imperium’s citizens at large, the Qizarate’s religiosity does not seem authentic. Korba comments on the number of gods in existence, absurdly suggesting that gods can come in and out of being like human beings. As a political organization formed from a religion, the Qizarate are paradoxical: they power in mind even if their religious doctrines claim otherwise.
Themes
Chani looks at her uncle Stilgar and wonders if he misses his life on in the Sietch. Stilgar looks at Korba standing on the balcony with raised arms and thinks he looks like he’s being crucified. When Korba returns, his eyes are ablaze with religious power. Alia makes another jibe at Korba, and Paul again wonders about Alia’s motives; Alia was in Lady Jessica’s womb when Lady Jessica became a Reverend Mother, and this endowed Alia with elderly wisdom.
The novel portrays Korba as an ostentatious religious figure, mimicking the crucifixion of Christ and enjoying his religion insofar as it gives him the thrill of power. Though Alia can see the hypocrisy in Korba, Paul cannot—and this suggests that, while Paul has the power to see the future, he does not have equal insight into the true natures of people.
Themes
Stilgar begins the meeting, drawing Paul’s attention to a treaty which the Guild asks Paul to sign for a planet, Tupile; Paul doesn’t know where Tupile is located. Addressing Paul as her husband, Irulan suggests that he withhold melange from the people on Tupile. Chani shakes her head, and Paul says that Tupile is a place of sanctuary for those he has defeated. Stilgar warns that the people on Tupile can hide things from the Emperor, but Alia says that allowance keeps the peace. Deeply irritated, Irulan asks what Paul has gained, and Alia responds that they have avoided confrontation. Paul senses that Alia understands the responsibility he feels for the universe.
The members of the council debate whether Paul should exercise or restrain the complete use of his power. Alia’s argument suggests that Paul will actually gain more control over the universe (will render it peaceful) if he withholds overt power over the planet of Tupile. On the other hand, if Paul exercised more power over Tupile, the planet might revolt. In this way, power is again seen as paradoxical: the more power one gains, the more in danger they are of losing this power.
Themes
Chani says that denying Tupile melange would cause its collapse, and it would be their fault. Paul says that he will sign the treaty, but Stilgar asks if Paul can’t get around the Guild and locate Tupile with his powers. Paul looks at the table, wondering how he can explain his prescient powers. Meeting Paul’s gaze, Alia nods at Irulan to remind Paul that Irulan will tell the Bene Gesserit everything. Wanting to give Stilgar an answer, Paul says that his prescience “wears the guise of nature” and cannot act out of aims; his own mind can only see what he predicts; if he looked for Tupile, this would hide Tupile.
Paul describes his prescience as a power that is beyond his ability to control, even though he possesses it. He cannot seek the information that he needs, which means that he cannot use prescience to his own advantage. Instead of being a tool that he can wield, his prescience is natural, and it comes to him as would memory or inspiration—that is, it is beyond his control.
Themes
Get the entire Dune Messiah LitChart as a printable PDF.
Irulan says that Paul’s prescience is inconsistent. Alia says that consistency is not an aspect of the universe and that Paul cannot explain a power with boundaries that escape the intellect. Paul signs the Tupile treaty, reflecting on all the different natures present at the meeting.
Instead of revealing the absolute truth, Paul’s prescience “wears the guise of nature” and so is inconsistent like nature. This inconsistency hints that Paul’s future could still surprise him, even though his prescience often makes the future seem fated.
Themes
Stilgar opens another folder and says that Ix—another planet—is clamoring to write a constitution. Particularly, the Ixians resist the taxes they pay to the Imperium. Stilgar reads a memorandum from CHOAM that says that the Imperium should be prevented from becoming a total power monopoly. Paul thinks about how the Jihad has faltered and is finite alongside eternity. Chani suggests that the Imperium grant Ix the form of a constitution; Irulan rebukes her deceptiveness. Korba suggests that they grant Ix a religious constitution, but Paul sharply forbids any constitution, saying that a constitution—as a non-human body of government—is the basis for tyranny.
Tupile and Ix’s petition for a kind of independence suggests a growing dissatisfaction with Muad’Dib’s rule since his rise to power. As it stands, every aspect of social and political life centers around Dune—religion, leadership, and finances. Paul rejects their pleas for independence on the grounds of the inhumanness of a constitution that would lead to rebellion. In this way, Paul suggests that it is the humanness of a centralized government that keeps power in check.
Themes
Next, Stilgar says that Irulan’s father has been teaching his legion how to land flying crafts. Irulan asks what her father can do with one small legion and insists that he is only training his police force. Paul requests that Irulan write to her father reminding him of his position. Irulan threatens that her father would not make a good martyr because many people look back on his rule with nostalgia. Chani warns Irulan not to overstep, but Paul knows Irulan is right.
The tension between Paul and Irulan is a tension between the present and the past. Paul represents a new society that uses prescience to move toward the future. But the Empire’s attachment to the past is just as powerful as prescience. The Empire’s nostalgia—not prescience—creates a weakness in Paul’s rule.
Themes
Next, Stilgar broaches the Bene Gesserit’s request to consult Paul about his bloodline. Paul tries to brush the topic aside, but Chani says they should discuss it. She describes praying and going to doctors, all in an effort to become pregnant. Irulan speaks persuasively about the civil strife that would result should no heir be born. Paul gets up and goes to the balcony. While gazing out at the planet, he daydreams about taking refuge on Tupile with Chani. Even if they did this, however, his name would remain behind.
Those who support Paul bearing an heir believe an heir will establish final peace between separate bloodlines. Producing an heir would give Paul ultimate power: he would unify his Empire, and he would ensure his eternal legacy. However, Paul’s desire to be with Chani and to abandon his position of power altogether show that Paul’s human nature is stronger than his thirst for power.
Themes
Paul looks down at the square, which is packed with religious pilgrims. The pilgrims have come to Dune from all over, believing it to be the source of mysteries, a “place to die.” Every time he subjugated a new legion, more pilgrims came. Paul has the impression that the security of his Jihad has shaken the safety of the cosmos; no matter how much he controls the universe, it still eludes him. He feels that Dune is alive, and that it resists him.
Paul conceives of his Jihad as something that both brought safety and also disrupted it. Although the pilgrims seek refuge on Dune, they only came to Dune in the first place because the Imperium had overtaken their homelands. With this, Paul understands that every solution to instability and uncertainty only produces more of the same.
Themes
Chani takes Paul’s hand and leads him to the table, whispering that they should escape to the desert soon. Standing at the table, Paul says that he cannot trust Irulan to mother his heir because of her connection to the Bene Gesserit and her desire for personal power. Paul apologizes to Irulan as he takes his seat.
In his position, Paul is torn in many directions. While he has a responsibility to his subjects, Chani plies him with escaping to the desert. Paul would love to escape but knows that he cannot—a predicament which makes him fraught with unhappiness.
Themes
Lastly, Stilgar says that the Guild requests an embassy on Dune. Korba insists that the Guild would soil Dune’s sacred ground. Paul silences Korba and accepts the Guild’s request. To Irulan’s sudden fright, Paul predicts that the Guild will send a Steersman, Edric. Paul says that he cannot see the Steersman but can see where it comes from and where it is going. Irulan reassures herself that the conspiracy his hidden: Edric and Paul are mutually blind.
Paul’s decision to grant the Guild’s request is counterintuitive. It seems that Paul would want to keep his enemies far away from his presence. His decision suggests that he is starting to give into his fate as something he cannot control—a decision that could either prove self-destructive, or freeing.
Themes
