The Typhoon Struggle

“What’s a gom jabbar?”

Kralizec — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:03:33 +0000

I had not noted until just now that Paul’s question to his mother, “What’s a gom jabbar?”, is the first what-is question asked in the Dune series. Given that Paul raises the possibility of a human gom jabbar shortly thereafter, his later emphasis on the problem of the production of human beings as weapons, the apparent existence of a cluster of concepts around “tooth,” and the extensive exploration of offenses and defenses in the Dune series, I’m inclined to take as a working assumption that Frank Herbert makes Paul raise the question, “What is a weapon?”, in a way that may make the question fresh for Herbert’s readers.

Filed under: Dune Tagged: gom jabbar, Jessica Atreides, Paul Atreides, tooth, weapon, what-is

“Gom Jabbar”

Kralizec — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:19:42 +0000

In the Dune series, there seems to be a closely allied set of symbols, all of them as it were implements of the Hunter, Orion, or Jabbar: the gom jabbar itself, the horns of the Old Duke’s bull, the tooth of the Duke Leto, the crysknife or maker-of-death, the hunter-seeker, and Maker hooks. To these, I think it may be correct or at least revealing to add the Kwisatz Haderach, the ghola Hayt, and Hwi Noree. These weapons remained under the guidance of the hunter until they struck their target or failed. It may or may not be correct, but in any case it does not seem misleading, to think of “gum jabber” in connection with most of these. Consideration of the Sophist may bring to mind a suggestion that the primitive organs of hunting–I do not speak of hunting for food alone–are also the organs of speech and gesture and of kissing and gripping. After all this time, hooks and tridents are still hooks and tridents.

Filed under: Dune Tagged: bull horns, crysknife, Duke Leto Atreides, Dune, ghola, gom jabbar, Hayt, hook, hunter, hunter-seeker, Hwi Noree, Jabbar, Kwisatz Haderach, Maker hooks, Old Duke, The Sophist, tooth, trident, weapon

“We did not get Arrakis.”

Kralizec — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:58:36 +0000

“We did not get Arrakis,” Jessica told Paul. In that case, it seems they may have always have had their possession, from the very beginning of their lives. I suggest that one not dismiss the possibility out of hand. Instead, consider what sort of thing Arrakis would have to be, if they never received it and always had it. If the Atreides “did not get Arrakis,” we may also consider the possibility that Arrakis was in some sense never truly theirs. Possession is such a difficult problem, both practically and intellectually. Practically, of what benefit was it to the Duke Leto if he possessed Arrakis? For he was so insecure in his possession of it that a scarecrow of a man took it from him merely by sedating the Atreides as he “sedated” the generators in the ducal residence in Arrakeen. The intellectual problem seems to be informed at least somewhat by the practical problem. As I recall, Thomas Hobbes was willing to propose in writing that we do not have a natural property even in our own bodies, and it seems good to reject the opinion of that thoughtful man only after having considered it well. For one’s own security, it seems good to ask oneself at least, what is one’s property in one’s own body, if a simple drug can destroy it or deliver it into the hands of another? Possession seems to be only as good as one’s guardianship of it. “Now I say, guard yourself for true!”

And it still remains to consider the possibility that Arrakis possessed the Atreides.

[This post was published on February 17, 2010, and revised on January 17, 2011.]

Filed under: Dune Tagged: Arrakis, Jessica Atreides, Paul Atreides, possession

“Sly Little Rascal”

Kralizec — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:53:23 +0000

Paul Atreides’s first action in Dune is an imitation that fails. As Reverend Mother Mohiam looks in on him, he pretends to be asleep. Looking back from the end, we may call what he attempts “concealment in a no-consciousness,” while in light of Plato’s Sophist, we may call it “concealment in nonbeing.” But Reverend Mother Mohiam, like Reverend Mother Anteac, is very good at what she does, and she detects Paul’s imitation or concealment in nonbeing.

Had Paul sat up in bed when the door to his room first opened, Mohiam would have learned that he was awake. Had he succeeded in feigning sleep, she would have learned nothing accurate. Observing Paul’s failed attempt, she learned both that he was awake and that he was a sly little rascal.

Posted in Dune Tagged: concealment in nonbeing, Dune, imitation, Paul Atreides, Plato, Reverend Mother Anteac, Reverend Mother Mohiam, Sophist

“Your Reverence”

Kralizec — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:10:30 +0000

The Reverend Mother Mohiam is an old woman who comes to test a youth and to kill him or let him live. I think she bears comparison to a midwife as described by Socrates in the Theaetetus.

Posted in Dune Tagged: Bene Gesserit, Gaius Helen Mohiam, midwife, Plato, Reverend Mother, Socrates, The Theaetetus

Irulan Seems to Be Mostly Wrong

Kralizec — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:02:28 +0000

A beginning seems to be a fine time at which to note that a character, even one that is made to speak authoritatively, is not necessarily a spokesman for the author. A beginning may not be a time for letting some literary princess tell us what is so. Consider what a poor model quantitative precision of correct balances is for the delicate matter of understanding the meaning of Muad’Dib, whether considered from Irulan’s standpoint as a real human being, or from the standpoint of the author and his readers as a character. Different sorts of inquiry seem to require different sorts of precision. When one comes to the point of inquiring as to what sort of inquiry one should make, it seems that inquiry requires the precision of the fullest openness to possible problems.

For the moment, we may consider the subject of Muad’Dib’s “place.” What, other than Irulan’s apparent certainty, supports the opinion that Muad’Dib has only one place, and not Caladan, but Arrakis? Careful consideration of Caladan as Muad’Dib’s origin would raise a question as to what “Caladan” was for Muad’Dib. Was it a water-world? It seems young Paul led a life apart from his father’s subjects, held apart and sheltered in Castle Caladan. The castle was not more watery than Dune, but more stony, that is, more solid. Unlike Castle Caladan, Planet Caladan was in flux, like the sands, winds, worms, and spice-blows of Arrakis. When Paul and his mother the Lady Jessica crashed in the desert, they were forced to sink or swim. If you think that’s just a metaphor, then please recall Paul’s rescue of his mother from beneath a wave of sand. And if you still will not consider the equivalence I’m making, of flowing water to flowing sand, then remember that Paul fixed the sand in place using foam, that is, a mixture of air and liquid. The earth of Arrakis became more solid, less “watery,” when Paul mixed it with a mixture of air and liquid.

To come to a point, then, Irulan’s precision about Muad’Dib’s place obscures the question as to whether flowing ocean and flowing desert may be much the same. Drawing such an equivalence seems to be a sort of precision, even a sort of equalizing or correction of balances.

Posted in Dune Tagged: Arrakis, Caladan, Frank Herbert, Irulan, Jessica Atreides, Paul Atreides

Duncan Idaho and Dune

Kralizec — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:16:22 +0000

I’ve struggled to use Duncan Idaho’s name as a means to connect the character to a high problem. It’s occurred to me that “Duncan Idaho” may be a pun on dunamis or one of its forms. One can consider also whether this conjecture offers insight into the meaning of the planet Dune and the series Dune.

Posted in Dune Tagged: dunamis, Duncan Idaho, Dune

Daniel and Marty

Kralizec — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:13:53 +0000

I think I’ve read a suggestion that the Face Dancers Daniel and Marty represent Frank Herbert and his wife. However, their actions and their self-understanding as portrayed in their conversation suggest that they represent the readers. Certainly I didn’t let the big mentat get away; I wanted to gather in his persona fully and make it another one of my own.

Posted in Dune Tagged: Daniel, Duncan Idaho, Dune, Face Dancers, Frank Herbert, Marty

Luyseyal

Kralizec — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:37:05 +0000

In Anteac and Luyseyal’s audience with Leto, Leto begins by considering and rejecting the possibility that Luyseyal is a Face Dancer mimic. It’s interesting to read the text with an eye for all the evidence that Leto quickly changes his mind. It’s also interesting to note and consider the other, numerous features of the scene that have a bearing on the issue of images, among them: Museum Fremen, False Sietch, ritual substitutes.

Sophists of Dune

Kralizec — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:05:51 +0000

The Dune series seems, in part, to be Frank Herbert’s exploration of themes and images he encountered in Plato’s dialogue The Sophist. Herbert’s connection to Plato’s Sophist may be partly by way of Martin Heidegger, who wrote a commentary on The Sophist.