Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dune, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Violence
Free Will and Fate
Environment and Human Culture
Human Cognitive Advances
Summary
Analysis
The epigraph from Princess Irulan’s text “Manual of Muad’Dib” details an inscription that Muad’Dib repeated throughout his life. The phrase was originally seen during his first night on Arrakis where it was inscribed over the Arrakeen landing field: “O you who know what we suffer here, do not forget us in your prayers.”
The Arrakeen landing field inscription is ominous and foreshadows the reality that Duke Leto will never leave the planet, while Paul and Jessica will experience great hardships in their coming years in the Arrakeen deserts.
Themes
Paul Atreides is invited to his father Duke Leto’s staff meeting in the ducal command post that overlooks the Arrakeen landing field. Beforehand, father and son discuss the hunter-seeker attempt on Paul’s life. The Duke is displeased that his Mentat Thufir Hawat failed to discover the plot when assessing the palace before the Atreides family moved in. Paul defends Hawat, stating the plot was a clever one and it was the Mentat’s training that helped Paul defeat the hunter-seeker. Leto accepts it is not Hawat’s fault and knows that the Mentat will be his own harshest critic, therefore does not need further criticism. When Hawat arrives for the meeting, he tries to resign due to his failure. Leto refuses to accept this resignation.
Despite his youth, Paul is respected enough to participate in Duke Leto’s leadership meetings. Leto’s disappointment in Hawat’s failure to discover the exceedingly clever assassination attempt demonstrates the immense trust that the Duke places on his human computer. Paul demonstrates greater wisdom than his father in realizing the situation’s reality and Hawat’s response—in fact, Paul’s logic is the type of cognitive reasoning that Mentats themselves are known for. His wisdom and logic suggests that he is beginning to rival or surpass his teachers in his abilities.
Themes
Leto and his men use the meeting to share information and make plans to avoid the imminent Harkonnen attacks. They also plan to counter the Harkonnens’ moves by raiding Harkonnen spice reserves stored on another planet.
These planned power plays again reflect the cyclical nature of political destruction that occurs between the Great Houses.
Themes
Hawat shares information he has learned about Fremen culture. They are likely led by an individual named Liet, although Hawat cannot be certain whether he is a real person or a God who is worshipped by Fremen communities. Duke Leto remains adamant that House Atreides must recruit the Fremen as allies who will support them against Harkonnen and even Imperial attacks. Fremen are responding positively to the Atreides’s extension of friendship and have shared gifts such as stillsuits and maps with the Duke’s men.
Hawat’s confusion about the identity of Liet suggests that Fremen culture closely intertwines politics with religion. Leto’s plan to gain Fremen as fighting forces allied with House Atreides is going well, validating the Duke’s political and military strategy. The Duke has recognized that the Fremen’s knowledge of Arrakeen landscapes is as valuable as their military strength, for the Duke needs to navigate Arrakis for strategic military placement as well as spice production. The gifts of maps and stillsuits are therefore likely greatly appreciated.
Themes
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House Atreides will also try to win the support of the spice smugglers on Arrakis. Local Fremen and smuggler support would benefit Leto’s economic profits as well as boosting his protective forces. Hawat and the Duke’s men raise their frustrations that the Great Houses who have previously vocalized their support of Duke Leto are now refusing to be involved in the conflict between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. The Duke acknowledges that it is typical behavior for the Great Houses to remain aloof until a winner is evident.
Duke Leto considers that the spice smugglers’ support is similarly beneficial for adding military and strategic strength to House Atreides. The fickleness of the Great Houses symbolizes the delicate political collaboration that hangs between the Padishah Emperor, the Landsraad, the Guild, and the Imperium at large.
Themes
Numerous issues are raised regarding spice production. It is currently stalled due to the Harkonnens leaving the Atreides with largely inoperable mining equipment on Arrakis. Sandworms are also a threat to successfully harvesting spice from the desert, as they can destroy the mining machinery in one hit. The giant worms seem immune to the protective shields that House Atreides normally rely on; Duke Leto askes Hawat to find a solution to this obstacle. The group realize that they can make spice profits more quickly if they cut costs by paying their workers (including Fremen) less fairly. The Duke refuses to do so, as he is invested in the long-term prosperity of Arrakis. He again reiterates the importance of strong relationships with the Fremen, describing them as key to harnessing the “desert power” of Arrakis compared to the “sea and air power” that the Atreides ruled with on Caladan.
House Atreides are struggling to manage the ecological differences between water-rich Caladan and arid Arrakis. The Duke shows his fair ethics in refusing to underpay his new workers in return for huge spice profits. He also knows that he must pay fair wages because he needs to persuade the Fremen to follow his leadership. Once more, the narrator uses Duke Leto to argue that the Fremen’s knowledge of surviving the Arrakeen desert environments is crucial to the Atreides’s military and economic successes.
Themes
The meeting also addresses the likelihood of Emperor Shaddam IV supporting House Harkonnen’s attacks on House Atreides by disguising his feared Imperial Sardaukar soldiers in Harkonnen colors. Duke Leto stipulates that they need to acquire fighting Fremen battalions to oppose the Sardaukar. He is pleased that Gurney Halleck has persuaded almost three hundred of the departing spice hunters to stay and work for House Atreides.
Duke Leto again demonstrates political intellect in targeting Fremen support and securing spice workers for House Atreides. He needs all the economic and military power he can get in order to overpower the dangerous Harkonnens.
Themes
Duncan Idaho joins the meeting and reports on a clash with Harkonnen soldiers disguised as local Fremen. Fremen sent a man to warn Duke Leto about this duplicity, but their messenger was killed by the Harkonnens. Idaho describes a strange weapon that the Fremen was carrying: a knife that is “milky white and glowing with a light of its own like.” He moves to show the knife to the room, but a Fremen leader named Stilgar calls out commandingly from the doorway and prevents the weapon—a crysknife—from being displayed. The Fremen leader is allowed entry to the meeting and Paul Atreides immediately notices an “aura of power” that radiates from the man. Stilgar explains his actions result from a Fremen belief that those who have viewed a crysknife can never leave Arrakis. The Duke agrees to comply with this Fremen belief, budding Idaho to leave the weapon sheathed.
The narrator exoticizes Fremen culture in Idaho’s otherworldly description of the Fremen knife that emits an unusual pale glow. Stilgar’s sudden intrusion on the meeting to inform them of the ritual associated with the weapon is a demonstration of House Atreides’s lack of knowledge of Arrakeen customs, despite their many preparations in learning all that they could about Arrakis before the move. Paul’s admiration for Stilgar will one day be reciprocated to an even higher degree from the Fremen leader.
Themes
Idaho has won the respect of Stilgar, and Duke Leto now does the same through the honor and fairness he affords the Fremen leader. Stilgar shows his respect to the Duke by spitting in front of him. It takes quick thinking from Idaho to prevent Leto’s men from retaliating to the perceived insult; instead they learn that spitting is a Fremen sign of respect, as it sacrifices the precious resource of water. To increase bonds between House Atreides and the Fremen, Stilgar proposes that Idaho becomes a member of his sietch (Fremen community). Leto and Idaho agree to Stilgar’s suggestion, with Idaho taking on a dual allegiances—he remains an Atreides soldier but is now bonded to the Fremen as an ambassador.
Despite the many hints that House Atreides has learned about the significance of water since they moved to Arrakis, the spitting scene indicates that none of them truly understand its importance. Jessica and Paul will soon come to realize water’s value firsthand when they must escape the Harkonnen forces by fleeing into the desert. However, at this time, the cultural differences between Fremen and House Atreides are taking too long to work out, and Duke Leto will not be able to protect his people.
Themes
Duke Leto’s final act at the meeting is to order that the Imperial planetologist Dr. Kynes is found so that he can lead the House Atreides to the abandoned Imperial bases on Arrakis. The Duke’s men advise against this dangerous move, as taking the Imperial bases could anger both the Emperor and the Fremen, but Leto demands his orders be upheld. The meeting is disbanded, with Paul concerned that his father’s leadership is unsteady, even “desperate.” He remembers Reverend Mother Mohiam’s prediction that Duke Leto would be killed when he moved to Arrakis.
Duke Leto normally leads his people in a composed and clear-sighted manner. However, his decision to ignore his trusted companions’ advice causes his men and his son to doubt their leader. His “desperate” actions arise from the shock he still feels at the attack on his beloved son; his reckless behavior also perhaps arises from the knowledge that his own death is likely fast approaching due to the Harkonnens’ intentions.
Themes
