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, Princess Irulan visits the Reverend Mother in her primitive jail cell. The Reverend Mother has predicted that she will die on Dune, but she remains calm. Looking up from the tarot cards she is sorting, she asks Irulan if she sent word to Lady Jessica. Irulan says that she doubts Lady Jessica will defend the Reverend Mother against her son.
Paul’s earlier actions have created a divide in the Bene Gesserit’s Reverend Mother Sisterhood. Lady Jessica’s loyalty to her son exceeds her loyalty to her political affiliation, showing that ties of family and love are stronger than political ties.
Themes
When the Guild’s plane had arrived earlier that day, a Qizarate member was waiting for the Reverend Mother on the landing strip. Afraid, the Reverend Mother wondered how the Imperium knew she was on the plane. The Qizara reminds her that Muad’Dib threatened to kill her if she came to Dune. The Reverend Mother says that she is not deboarding on Dune and that she is in “free space” on the plane. The Qizara says that Muad’Dib rules everywhere and orders her off the plane. Briefly, the Reverend Mother suspects the Guild of trapping her; she does not want to set foot on Dune—the place where the Bene Gesserit’s prized kwisatz haderach betrayed the Bene Gesserit. But the Qizara says it is ordained, so the Reverend Mother obeys.
The Reverend Mother is told that there is no “free space” under Muad’Dib’s rule by a member of the Qizarate. This suggests that the religiosity that the Qizarate have attached to the Muad’Dib makes logical arguments about rules impossible. The Qizarate believe that Muad’Dib’s influence is omniscient and incorporeal as a god’s would be, and so they believe there is no such thing as “free space” under his rule. In this way, the religion that arose around Muad’Dib entraps people who would otherwise have been free from it.
Themes
In the jail cell, Irulan and the Reverend Mother engage in small talk. Meanwhile, they use hand signals to discuss other matters so the guards can’t hear them. Irulan conveys her respect for the Reverend Mother as her former teacher. The Reverend Mother feels privately that Irulan is a “whining shrew.” With sign language, the Reverend Mother tells Irulan that her chance to bear Paul’s heir is over and that she must try to remove Chani and instigate crossbreeding between Alia and Paul. Irulan worries that she will be blamed for Chani’s death; what is more, Chani has started a diet that resists the birth control Irulan administers.
The Guild has neither a virtuous cause nor unity amongst its members. In private, each of the Guild members looks down on the others. Each member of the Guild has their own aim, and each of their aims is either selfish or extreme, such as the Reverend Mother’s desire to kill Chani and crossbreed Alia and Paul to get what she wants. In their internal dissension and its unappetizing goals, the Guild does not seem built to succeed.
Themes
The Reverend Mother despairs that Chani will bear Paul’s heir and ruin the purity of the Bene Gesserit line. She instructs Irulan to administer an abortion if Chani becomes pregnant. Irulan asserts her value as a royal princess and agent and warns the Guild not to waste her on this dangerous task. The Reverend Mother restates the seriousness of the mission. Irulan worries that she is being used and asks if it is certain that the ghola can destroy Muad’Dib. The Reverend Mother says that the ghola’s destruction is as certain as melange’s destruction.
The Reverend Mother compares the ghola to melange—the addictive drug that helps Paul keep the universe dependent on him. This suggests that the ghola will have a sedative effect on Paul, tempting him and making him dependent on the ghola to the point that disposing of the ghola would kill him. It also suggests that the ghola’s effect on Paul will be primarily psychological.
Themes
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Knowing that melange is valuable—but also that it extracts the price of addiction and death—Irulan wonders what the deadly price of the ghola is. The Reverend Mother restates that it would be best for Irulan to kill Chani. Irulan decides to allow the Guild to “spend her” and show them how much a princess is worth. When Irulan departs, the Reverend Mother returns to her tarot cards, which tell her that the Guild’s enemy has unexpected resources for defense. She worries that Irulan will ruin the conspiracy.
Irulan thinks of the Guild’s strategies in monetary terms. She considers that everything which is used—or “spent”—exacts some kind of loss from the spender. If Paul exploits the ghola for its value, he will pay a price. On the other hand, Irulan hopes the Guild’s exploitation of her will only prove that she is more valuable than anyone else. In these terms, no matter who wins in the Guild-Imperium battle, the winner will suffer some kind of loss.
Themes
