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Characters of Dune
[[Category:Concepts]]

Bene Gesserit

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The '''Bene Gesserit''' (from Latin: see the [[Bene_Gesserit#Origin_of_the_name|origin of the name]]) are a key social, religious and political force in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune universe]]. It is described as a secretive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain powers and abilities that can easily be seen as magical to outsiders. Due to their secretive nature and misunderstood abilities, outsiders often call them witches.

Trained at the Mother School on [[Wallach IX]], and later headquartered at a hidden world known as [[Chapterhouse]] in the two last books (''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' and ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]''), the Bene Gesserit are loyal only to themselves. However, to obtain their goals and avoid outside interference, they often screen themselves with an illusion of being loyal to other groups or individuals.

== Strategies and goals of the Bene Gesserit==
=== Breeding program ===

The ultimate goal of the ''Bene Gesserit'' Sisterhood, up to the end of the novel ''[[Dune]]'', is the creation of the ''[[Kwisatz Haderach]]'', a male ''Bene Gesserit''. This is being achieved through a massive human breeding program, which the Sisterhood has conducted for countless generations; using careful manipulations of relationships and people in general, the ''Bene Gesserit'' have controlled bloodlines through the ages. The ''[[Kwisatz Haderach]]'', with access to both male and female lines in ''[[Other Memory]]'', will be an overt figure in the ''Bene Gesserit's'' manipulations, thrust upon the universe as the ''[[Messiah]]'' (see ''[[Missionaria Protectiva]]'' below).

In the novel ''[[Dune]]'', the ''Bene Gesserit'' breeding scheme was, in theory, to have come to full fruition from the union of an Atreides daughter (born of the ''Lady [[Jessica Atreides|Jessica]]'' and the ''Duke [[Leto Atreides]]'' ) and the ''[[Na-Baron]]'' ''[[Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen]]'' (son of ''[[Abulurd Harkonnen]]'' , brother of the Siridar-''Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]]''. The Baron was himself the natural father of the ''Lady [[Jessica Atreides|Jessica]]'' ). Of course, the ever so valuable breeding scheme was a generation off, and it was an ''[[House Atreides|Atreides]]'' son that was to be the ''Bene Gesserit'' totality - the ''[[Kwisatz Haderach]]'' (this gives an explanation as to why the Lady ''[[Alia Atreides]]'', daughter of the ''Lady [[Jessica Atreides|Jessica]]'' and the ''Duke [[Leto Atreides]]'' was able to have access to the genetic male-memory of the ''Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]]'' , her natural grandfather, as she was near the pinnacle of the centuries-long breeding scheme, and more likely to have access to her male ''[[genetic memory]]''.

In ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', the [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]] [[Scytale]] reveals that the Bene Tleilax created their own ''Kwisatz Haderach''s--in their case, beings of pure evil or pure good, indicating that the term "Kwisatz Haderach" means some sort of creature of essence. Scytale observes that their ''Kwisatz Haderach''s could be destroyed by forcing them to become their opposites. In the novel, Scytale raises the point as part of a conspiracy to destroy [[Paul Atreides]], the Bene Gesserit's ''Kwisatz Haderach''. The conspiracy unfolds along the lines of Herbert's theme throughout the ''Dune'' novels that [[prescience]] grants control, but that control paradoxically traps the prescient in a foreseen future that they can not change.

In ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'', the God-Emperor [[Leto II Atreides|Leto]] has taken over their breeding program for his own purposes. By ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'', the Bene Gesserit have given up the idea of breeding for a messiah, instead breeding for special individuals of great talent and usefulness in order to amplify certain human characteristics and preserve them. In the two last books, the 'Latter-day Bene Gesserit' seem to see themselves as shepherds of humanity, gently nudging humans forward, rather than the comparatively gross manipulations of the early novels.

=== Avoiding direct power ===

The Bene Gesserit have chosen to use indirect methodologies to further their goals, rather than wield overt power themselves.They have noted the Taoist principle that whatever rises must fall; and so rather than taking direct control of the human race, instead manipulate the social and political order with subtlety and insinuation, often using extraordinarily longterm stratagems spanning generations. They avoid becoming or seeming too rich or too powerful or indeed revealing the extent of their powers, so as to avoid being seen as overtly responsible for the rise and fall of governments and empires.

=== Missionaria Protectiva ===

The Bene Gesserit practice "religious engineering" through a department called the ''[[Missionaria Protectiva]]''. [[Reverend Mother|Reverend Mothers]] plant legends and prophecies throughout the universe of messiahs and pivotal figures to come. There are two purposes to this. First, a Reverend Mother in need can take advantage of the prophecies by fulfilling them, casting herself as a guide, protector, or some other figure, in order to manipulate the religious subjects for her own protection or purposes. Second, [[religion]] is a powerful force in human society; by controlling religion, the Bene Gesserit have a manipulative lever on society in general.

In ''Dune'', [[Jessica Atreides|Jessica]] and Paul take refuge among the Fremen after the destruction of [[House Atreides]]. Paul claims to be ''Mahdi'', a figure from legendary material planted among the [[Fremen]] by the Missionaria Protectiva. That the Mahdi legend has been planted on Dune indicates to Jessica that conditions on Dune are truly awful since this legend is reserved for only the harshest environments where a Bene Gesserit would need maximum leverage over her environment.

The Missionaria also was used in much more ambitious ways. The Bene Gesserit used it to prepare the entire Empire for its Kwisatz Haderach. Later there were plans to unite the Old Empire under the Bene Gesserit against the scattering forces. The plan was to use Reverend Mother Sheeana's ability to control the great sandworms to become a direct religous force.

== The training of the Bene Gesserit ==
===Training from childhood===

The Bene Gesserit begin training [[acolyte]]s when they are very young, and those of preference they would begin training from birth. The younger a child becomes an acolyte, the more likely that child will become a Reverend Mother. The Bene Gesserit do train people at later ages, but only if they are supremely talented (e.g., the [[House Corrino]] leader [[Farad'n Corrino|Farad'n]]) or if they have already received similar training (e.g., the [[Honored Matre]] [[Murbella]]).

===Spice Agony===

'''Spice agony''' is an ordeal in which an acolyte of the Bene Gesserit takes the ''[[Awareness Spectrum Narcotic]]'' (which is produced by drowning a ''[[little maker]]'' in water. The [[Sandworm|worm]] gives up its bile, which in itself is a concetrated form of ''[[spice melange]]'') and awakens her inner self, and the selves of all her female ancestors. In order to survive the ritual, she must also "change" the substance or [[Water of Life]] by internally neutralizing its poisonous properties. When a Fremen Reverend Mother does this it is not only to save her own life but to provide the changed water for the ''[[Sietch Orgy]]''. If she masters the confrontation the first time, she emerges as a Reverend Mother, a Bene Gesserit of terrifying abilities, fully in command of her Other Memories (the collective egos of her female ancestors). Many Bene Gesserit women fail to master themselves and die in the spice agony. (Melange is used on [[Arrakis]], on other planets they may use other poisons, however, once melange is introduced, most other poisons no longer work; Melange is found to be much more effective and is universally adopted after the Arrakis affair).

Only females can survive the agony. The Bene Gesserit though sought the ''Kwisatz Haderach'' who would be able to change an illuminating poison. The Bene Gesserit try over many generations through selective breeding to produce such a being. A ''Kwisatz Haderach'' is given different abilities than a Reverend Mother. During the Spice Agony, there are two areas of the soul that the acolyte may visit — the part that gives, and the part that takes. When a Bene Gesserit acolyte becomes a full Reverend Mother, she gains her ancestral memories — the complete memories of all of her female ancestors. She cannot recall the memories of her male ancestors, and is terrified by the psychic space within her that the masculine memories inhabit. Hitherto, all men who have attempted the spice agony have tried and died.

[[Jessica Atreides]] endured the spice agony while pregnant with her daughter, [[Alia Atreides|Alia]]. This had a profound effect on Alia ''in utero'', who was consequently born a full Reverend Mother with the complete ''Other Memory'' of her mother's line. The Bene Gesserit call her "Abomination" because of this. Without the benefits of Bene Gesserit mental conditioning, however, this led to her downfall as she was unable to maintain control of the other egos striving for dominance. Interestingly, the personality that eventually took control of ''[[Alia Atreides|Alia]]'' was that of the ''Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]]'', a memory that was able to surface due to her place in the ''Bene Gesserit'' breeding scheme. (An ''[[House Atreides|Atreides]]'' daughter (born of the ''Lady [[Jessica Atreides|Jessica]]'' and the ''Duke [[Leto Atreides]]'' ) was to have bred with the ''[[Na-Baron]]'' ''[[Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen]]'' (Son of ''[[Abulurd Harkonnen]]'', brother of the ''Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]]'' ) with a high probability for producing from this union the ''Bene Gesserit'' totality: the ''[[Kwisatz Haderach]]'' . Being that ''[[Alia Atreides|Alia]]'' was an ''[[House Atreides|Atreides]]'' daughter, her access to male ''[[other memory]]'' was far more likely).

It was not untill Muad'Dib and his mother witnessed the use of Water of Life by the Fremen to undergo the change that the Bene Gesserit adopted it as their primary illuminating poison. Previously others were used but afterwards none were effective.

==Bene Gesserit Government==

In later Dune novels, the Bene Gesserit establish governance on a number of planets from the Old Empire. It is hinted throughout Heretics of Dune that they are cautiously using democracy, but this is not confirmed and elaborated upon until the supreme [[Honored Matres|Honored Matre]] confronts a captive Reverend Mother named Lucilla and attempts to pry Bene Gesserit secrets from her on the Guild planet of Junction. In Chapterhouse, it is clarified that the Bene Gesserit societies lack any laws and use a shockingly wild system of justice. Their jurors, called Proctors, are free to come to any decision, and order whatever action is necessary. The Bene Gesserit are largely fearful of laws because of their fear of becoming Honored Matres.

== Bene Gesserit History==

The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood began with sorceresses during the time of the Butlerian Jihad. Their powers surfaced with the discovery of the first illuminating poison on Rossack. These groups were consolidated into a single Sisterhood. The Bene Gesserit existed for millenia appearing as a semi-mystical school that trained woman for service to the Empire as Truthsayers or mates. In reality though they were controlling the Empire behind the scenes in order to mature humanity. They developed a large scale breeding program in order to create a superbeing that they could use in order to gain control more directly. To do this they sent breeding sisters to mate with those whose genes they required.

Their superbeing (the Kwisatz Haderach) arrived early and was free from their control. The man Paul Atreides took control of the Empire and held a tight monopoly on the spice. He became the Sisterhood's enemy but they despite their scheming he was destroyed by his own abilities. His son however, Leto II, had far greater powers and for 3500 years he dominated the Bene Gesserit. Their spice supply was very limited and huge restrictions were placed on their actions. Their breeding program was taken away from them as well. Leto II's intentions though were to strengthen and mature the Bene Gesserit and he did so.

After Leto's death the Bene Gesserit slowly gained back their power. During the Famine Times and the Scattering many Reverend Mothers were sent out among the scattered humanity. the Bene Gesserit survived for a time with no problems untill the scattered ones began to return to the Old Empire. Descendants of Tleilaxu Face Dancers and ones called Honored Matres began to threaten the Bene Gesserit's power. At this time the head of the Sisterhood, Alma Mavis Taraza, made a bold plan to release humanity from the orcaular hold of Leto II by destroying Dune. The Honored Matres were goaded into destroying Dune and the Bene Gesserit brought a single sandworm to their main planet of ChapterHouse to begin a new spice cycle.

The Honored Matres began to destroy all of the planets held by the Bene Gesserit and enslave the populaces of all planets that they controlled. They were being chased by far more powerful forces from the scattering. It was discovered that they were in reality descendants of Reverend Mothers and Fish Speakers that scattered. The new Mother Superior, Darwi Odrade made another bold plan and decided to use a captive Honored Matre turned Reverend Mother to join the two forces under a single leader. At the end of the series there is a very shaky truce being held as the two groups are newly allied under Mother Superior/ Great Honored Matre Murbella.

(further information about the sorceresses is not canon as it is supplied by another author, the information included above about them is from Frank Herbert's original writing)

== The powers of the Bene Gesserit ==

Thanks to intensive training, all Bene Gesserit possess skills and abilities that appear to those outside the order as magical powers. These include both mental and physical powers. All Reverend Mothers are storehouses of information through ''Other Memory''; they are trained to notice tiny details; and they have fine control over each muscle in their bodies.

=== Other Memory ===

One of the 'powers' of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother is her ''Other Memory'': the combined ego and memories of all her female ancestors, passed on through the genes, and thus, up to the point where each following ancestor was conceived. The ego/memory combination remains a distinct identity within the Reverend Mother's mind, and is able to inject itself into her awareness at appropriate or emotional moments, though the Reverend Mother's ego is always dominant.

A Reverend Mother has access only to her female lineage in Other Memory; her male line is unavailable to her, present as a dark void that terrifies her. Until the time of ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'', the purpose of the Bene Gesserit breeding scheme is to breed a ''Kwisatz Haderach'', a male with Other Memory who can see both lines (see below).

Reverend Mothers may also pass their own ego/memory combination to other Reverend Mothers at will, merely by touching foreheads. When a Reverend Mother dies in the presence of another Reverend Mother, the second will accept the ego/memory of the first to prevent the loss of the dying Reverend Mother's experience and ancestral memories. Especially when the Mother Superior perishes, it is important to take her ego/memory so that her plans and strategies may continue uninterrupted. In ''[[Chapterhouse Dune]]'', [[Darwi Odrade]] is Mother Superior, a contentious choice ratified by the fact that she was present at the previous Mother Superior's death, and has her in ''Other Memory'', so she represents the most continuous line of leadership. Under extreme conditions, a large community of Bene Gesserit will practice ''Extremis Progressiva'', a mass sharing of ego/memories with each other to spread all the ego/memories amongst everyone; thus, if one survives, they all survive. In ''[[Chapterhouse Dune]] '', the Bene Gesserit school on [[Lampadas]], under attack by the Honored Matres, undertakes ''Extremis Progressiva''; [[Lucilla]] escapes with 'the Lampadas Horde', hoping to return to the Bene Gesserit with them.

=== The Voice ===

Bene Gesserit are trained in the use of their voice (it is always capitalized "the Voice" in the novels) to compel obedience in listeners on a subconscious level. By controlling the subtleties of her voice, a Bene Gesserit can speak to a person's unconscious mind, commanding it in a way that the conscious mind is aware of, but cannot resist. The Voice is not specific to individual listeners; it is applicable in group speaking as well. In some way, Voice is an extreme version of oratorical ability; a real-world example would be Adolf Hitler, whose speeches were said to be electrifying.

Voice control is not magical or mystical. It is an innate talent, present in greater or lesser amounts in everyone, requiring only training to be made useful. A Bene Gesserit doesn't have to be a Reverend Mother to use Voice, and others outside the order may be taught to use it. In ''Dune'', Jessica teaches it to Paul; after the Reverend Mother [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]] tests Paul, she urges Jessica to give him the 'deep training', the deepest secrets of Bene Gesserit in the use of Voice, saying only that "he'll need it."

At least three things hamper the Voice: it is useless against targets who cannot hear the Bene Gesserit (e.g., someone deaf), and its effectiveness is limited by how well the Bene Gesserit can analyze her target's personality and vocal patterns to determine what pitch of Voice will be most effective-- a limitation offset by the Bene Gesserit's skills in observing their targets and perceiving its weaknesses. Also, being a manipulation of the target's subconscious mind, the Voice is of limited utility against an extremely disciplined mind, such as a Reverend Mother or a strong [[Mentat]]; if the target understands what Voice is and how it works, and is aware that it is being used, he may resist it; in ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Paul trains some guards to resist Voice so that he may imprison Bene Gesserit.

In [[Heretics of Dune]] Reverend Mother [[Darwi Odrade|Odrade]] Explains to [[Sheeana]] that planetary populations exposed to long term Voice control learn ways to adapt to it, and can no longer be manipulated. This why the [[Honored Matres]] have been driven back into the old empire. Over-controlling, they've built up both resistance and rebellion, and are now on the run from their former subjects.

=== Petit perception ===

Bene Gesserit are trained to exercise ''petit perception'' at all times, noticing minutiae that others miss to a terrifying degree. When combined with their analytical abilities, Bene Gesserit appear to be witches (hence the nickname for them), capable of divining secrets in persons and circumstances that are invisible to everyone else. Slight differences in air currents or the design of a room will allow a Bene Gesserit to detect hidden portals and spyholes; variations in a person's voice and tiny reactions allow Bene Gesserit to deeply understand a person's emotional state, and manipulate it.

=== Truthsaying ===

Many Bene Gesserit are ''Truthsayers''. A Truthsayer has a finely honed perception of their own sense of someone else's veracity, an ability that all humans have, in principle, but that requires extensive training to develop to the point of usefulness. The training of the Bene Gesserit is very useful for developing this ability, but is not the only way. It is not a skill: It is the development of a latent talent. One character describes the talent as "whenever I hear someone tell a lie, I want to turn my back on them."

=== Simulflow ===

Bene Gesserit also have the ability to practice ''simulflow'', literally the simultaneous flow of several threads of consciousness at any given time; mental multitasking, as it were. The combination of simulflow with their analytical abilities and ''Other Memory'' are responsible for the frightening intelligence of the average Bene Gesserit. This simulflow can also be held with ''Other Memory''; Mother Superior Odrade practiced both forms in ''Heretics of Dune''.

=== ''Prana Bindu'' training and the Weirding Way ===

The Bene Gesserit develop their physical abilities as well as their mental abilities. A trained Sister has full control over each muscle in her body; this is called ''prana bindu'' training. It allows her to bend the last joint in her little toe while remaining otherwise motionless or put a remarkable amount of force behind a physical blow (unarmed attacks being a part of their specialized martial art called "the [[Weirding Way]]"). They can bend and contort their bodies in ways that most would consider impossible. The mental part of Prana Bindu, or Prana nervature (''Bindu'' stands for musculature) is the precise control of the totality of nerves in the human body. In ''Dune'', Reverend Mother Mohiam tests Paul with a pain box. Paul learns that he is not the only one to have tried it, but is perhaps specially resistant; this conversation points to a widespread use of it as a tool among the Bene Gesserit to measure self control, nerve control, and as Mohiam puts it, crisis and observation.

=== Internal Organic-Chemical Control ===

While the ''[[Prana Bindu]]'' attempts to control and properly play each muscle and nerve, there remains the question of internal organs and body chemistry, to which the Sisterhood has responded as such: a Sister can completely control her breathing and heart rate, to the degree that she can appear dead to most tests even after intense physical exertion. They can commit [[suicide]] at will by simply stopping their hearts. They can control their need for food and water to the extremes of hunger and thirst. It is hinted at that should a ''Bene Gesserit'' wish to, she could slow her aging process dramatically, controlling every aspect of her [[metabolism]]. Of course, no ''Bene Gesserit'' would ever do this, as it would call too much attention and reveal too much of their abilities (the ''Lady [[Jessica Atreides Jessica]]'' realizes that her daughter, the Lady ''[[Alia Atreides]]'', has done this in the novel ''[[Children of Dune]]'' . This is the first sign she encounters that suggests her daughter is sinking into ''[[abomination]]'' ).

Most remarkably, the ''Bene Gesserit'' have such training over their bodies that they can control their own menstrual cycle, and even what gender their child will be at conception. The ''Lady [[Jessica Atreides|Jessica]]'' was ordered to bear only daughters to the ''[[Atreides]]'' but defied her ''Bene Gesserit'' sisters and had her son, ''[[Paul Atreides]]''. The ''Bene Gesserit'' conspired against the ''[[Padishah Emperor]]'' [[Shaddam IV Corrino|Shaddam IV]]'s desire to have a male heir and only gave him daughters, such as ''Princess [[Irulan Corrino|Irulan]]''.

=== Considerable Sexual Talents ===
The Bene Gesserit are notable for their extensive skill in seduction, sex and sexual imprinting.

In ''Heretics of Dune'', Sister Lucilla has been charged with the seduction-imprinting of the [[Duncan Idaho]] ''[[ghola]]''. While Duncan ultimately avoids her, it is implied that seduction was and is a tool for the Bene Gesserit. Lucilla also mentions the hundreds of sexual positions and variations she knows (presumably so does every sister). It is even more interesting that Lucilla is a breeding mistress, pointing to their sexual talents as a major force in their breeding programs, not just concubines and wives; note that while Mother Mohiam was raped by Baron Harkonnen in the Brian Herbert novels, the original novels point to a "clever seduction" in his youth, presumably by Tanidia Nerus as mentioned in [[Children of Dune]], as the reason for Lady Jessica's existence.

==Weaknesses of the Bene Gesserit==
===Addiction to the melange===

Reverend Mothers are dependent on [[spice melange|melange]] to give them their abilities. Any person who consumes Melange regularly becomes addicted to it and requires it for survival, however, one who has gone through the agony has a far greater need. Though the effects of melange are highly favourable, including vastly increased lifespan and mental powers, it is an addiction. Withdrawal causes death and individual Reverend Mothers are vulnerable to isolation and being without the sisterhood's resources. Melange is expensive and thus is a continual drain on the Sisterhood's resources.

But the most deadly danger is collective, i.e., the loss of the supply of melange. For most of history melange has been limited to one source, the planet [[Arrakis]]. The Bene Gesserit have thus been dependent on the maintenance of that supply and the transport of that supply across space by the [[Spacing Guild]].

===Abomination===

''Other Memory'' figures prominently in the ''Dune'' series for several reasons, one of which is that a human with access to Other Memory who has not developed a sufficiently strong ego will become [[possessed]] by a strong ancestral ego. If a Bene Gesserit undergoes the spice agony while pregnant, the fetus will also undergo the spice agony and gain access to other memories, becoming 'pre-born'. Since the fetus has no ego of its own, it becomes a vessel (eventually) for someone long-dead. This is called "abomination" by the Bene Gesserit, and abominations are always killed immediately. In ''[[Dune]]'', when Jessica undergoes the spice agony with a wild Reverend Mother with the Fremen, she is pregnant with Alia. Since Jessica and Alia are with the Fremen, the Bene Gesserit cannot kill Alia, though they urge it strongly upon Jessica, who refuses. In ''[[Children of Dune]]'', Alia eventually succumbs to the ancestral ego of her grandfather, the Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]], who wants nothing more than the destruction of the Atreides, and is given another opportunity, from the inside, to realize it. Paul and [[Chani]]'s children, Leto and [[Ghanima Atreides|Ghanima]], are also 'pre-born', but before they become possessed, they stumble across solutions: Leto, forced to undergo a radical spice agony, constructs an executive of benevolent ancestral egos (such as Paul and Leto I) who protect him; Ghanima, as part of their plan to fake Leto's death, consciously blocks the memory of Leto and their plan, inadvertently developing a mental discipline capable of protecting her undeveloped ego.

== The litany against fear ==

In the Dune novel, the Bene Gesserit used the following chanted words to reduce their fear.

: "I must not fear.
: Fear is the mind-killer.
: Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
: I will face my fear.
: I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
: And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
: Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
: Only I will remain."

Other productions based on the novel alter the litany. The version from [[David Lynch]]'s [[Dune (movie)|film]] ends at "over me and through me'" - the last three sentences are removed. The [[litany]] is also slightly different in the TV-miniseries of ''Dune'' and ''Children of Dune'' (''Children of Dune'' adapts ''Dune Messiah'' and ''Children of Dune'' into one miniseries).

: "I will not fear.
: Fear is the mind-killer.
: I will face my fear.
: I will let it pass through me."

== Origin of the name ==

In the real world, the name "Bene Gesserit" was likely extracted from the legal Latin phrase "quamdiu se bene gesserit" = "as long as he/she shall behave himself well", via someone knowing that "bene" is also Hebrew for "sons of". Bene Gesserit by itself means "(s)he shall have behaved well".

''Gesserit'' is a form of the Latin verb 'gero' (specifically the third person singular of the future perfect active indicative), whose meanings include "to carry", "to wear", "to manage", "to bear [a child]", "to behave", or simply "to do". Thus the translation of "bene gesserit" is open to wide interpretation. Among the possibilities are "it will have done well", "she will have borne [a child] well", "he will have behaved well", et cetera.

In [[Brian Herbert]]'s biography of his father, Brian speculates that the name "Gesserit" is supposed to suggest to the reader the word Jesuit, thus envoking undertones of a religious order.

== Bene Gesserit in the Prequels

== Appearance in prequel novels==

In the prequel novels written by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J Anderson]], the Sorceresses of Rossak, who possess powers only females can use and have a breeding plan to create more powerful telepaths, are undoubtebly the precursors to the Bene Gesserit (although most fans do not consider the prequels canon). They make their appearance in ''[[Dune: The Butlerian Jihad]]'', where they sacrifice themselves to destroy some of the [[Titan|Titans]] and [[Cymek|Neo-Cymeks]].
It is later revealed in ''[[Dune: The Battle of Corrin]]'' that Vorian Atreides' granddaughter, Raquella Berto-Anirul, is really at the origin of the Order, acquiring powerful mental powers after a traumatic near-death experience. She resists a poisoning attempt by internally converting the drug into a harmless chemical, being the first to undergo the Agony.

In ''[[Dune: House Harkonnen]]'', the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen forces his way into the Bene Gesserit headquarters. The Bene Gesserit, in turn, use their mastery over the human psyche to hide in the shadows, taunting the hapless Harkonnen soldiers who cannot find them.

In ''[[Dune: House Atreides]]'', the Baron Harkonnen rapes Reverend Mother Mohiam, who infects the Baron with a venereal disease as a form of punishment. This disease is an attempt to explain the Baron's later corpulence.

== See also ==
* [[Jessica Atreides]], a key Sister, mother of [[Paul Atreides]]
* [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]], another important Sister. Instructor of Jessica (and possibly her mother according to the Brian Herbert novels)

Dune (Jorodowsky)

2010-05-13T04:48:39Z

Gobalopper: Undo revision 10301 by Russel08 (Talk)

In the late 1970s, Chilean director '''Alejandro Jodorowsky''' attempted to make what would have been the first filmed adaptation of Dune. Jodorowsky's film would have taken great liberties with Frank Herbert's text, but to make it he assembled some of the most creative minds of the time, including H.R. Giger, Moebius, and Christopher Foss in the design department, and Salvador Dali as Shaddam Corrino IV and, according to some reports, Orson Welles as Vladimir Harkonnen. In the end, it failed because the financing fell through, though had it been made it no doubt would have been a pinnacle of Jodorowsky's career.

== The Producer, the Director, and the Genesis of the Project ==

The creator of the ''Dune Chronicles'', Frank Herbert, generally was at a step removed from such proceedings. All news regarding the film industry's interest in the book was relayed to him by his film agent, Ned Brown, while Herbert himself continued to write at his home, with his wife Beverly by his side. By the time Seydoux and Jodorowsky were making their plans for ''Dune'', he had already published its sequel, ''Dune Messiah'' (1970), and was about to begin work on the final draft of what would become ''Children of Dune'' (1976).

Herbert had already had his hopes raised when Arthur P. Jacobs, producer of the ''Planet of the Apes'' films, had exercised an option to make ''Dune'' in 1972 with David Lean directing, which not only would have done the book justice, but would also have brought in a significant amount of money that the Herberts sorely needed, both to keep a roof over their heads and to keep up with Beverly's rising medical costs (Beverly had recently had cancer treatment that gave her another ten years of life, but the complications dealt her health a severe blow). Jacobs' death in June 1973 left the future of that production in doubt. Ultimately, Jacobs' company, Apjac International, decided not to renew their option on ''Dune'' and Herbert was left out in the cold. The royalties from ''Dune'' were substantial, but apparently not enough to provide firm security, especially when factoring in Beverly's needs. A new offer to film the book came at just the right time.

Herbert himself found out about the project in December 1974 upon returning from a three-month car trip to Mexico with Beverly. His son Brian Herbert, in addition to taking up the task of continuing the ''Dune Chronicles'' in book form, wrote a biography of his father, ''Dreamer of Dune'' (2003), in which he gave the Herberts' perspective on the news:

<blockquote>''Upon returning from their trip in early December 1974, good news awaited them. A French production company headed by Michel Seydoux was making a substantial offer for the right to film ''Dune''. The offer was accepted, and their advance provided welcome financial breathing room ... Seydoux, a millionaire Parisian, obtained the Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky for the project. Jodorowsky, director of the controversial cult films ''El Topo'' and ''The Holy Mountain'', was a brilliant eccentric with left-wing political views. The budget was set at $9,500,000, substantially lower than Arthur P. Jacobs' $15,000,000, especially considering inflation in the intervening years. But Jodorowsky planned to film in Spain and the deserts of Algeria, where costs were not excessive. He was confident he could come in under budget.''</blockquote>

== The Characters and Cast ==

Acording to Jodorowsky, it was only after the matters of production design, music and special effects were settled that he turned his attention to the casting of the film. Brian Herbert relates the basics of what is known about the casting in ''Dreamer of Dune'':

<blockquote>''Jodorowsky wrote the screenplay and proceeded with storyboarding, the creation of special effects, set construction, and costume-making. He also reached tentative casting agreements with an interesting group of actors. Jodorowsky intended to play Duke Leto Atreides himself, while Orson Welles would be Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The Surrealistic artist and filmaker Salvador Dali would be the Padishah Emperor (Shaddam IV), David Carradine would be Imperial ecologist Dr. Kynes, and Charlotte Rampling would be Lady Jessica. ''</blockquote>

This is essentially correct, though there are minor areas where Herbert's and Jodorowsky's accounts differ. More to the point, because ''Dreamer of Dune'' focuses on different issues than the production of a film that was, in the end, never made, the details of the casting, which in one particular case are worthy of a soap opera, are left unsaid. It falls to Jodorowsky's ''Metal Hurlant'' article to elaborate on who was cast for which character. Equally, it falls to Jodorowsky to describe in what ways the characters remained the same as Herbert imagined them, and where they became radically different:

=== Duke Leto Atreides (Alejandro Jodorowsky) ===

<blockquote>''In the film, Duke Leto (the father of Paul) would be a man castrated in a ritual combat in the arenas during a bullfight. (The emblem of the Atreides house being a sacred bull...)''</blockquote>

=== Paul Atreides (Brontis Jodorowsky) ===

Alejandro's son was lined up to play the lead role.

=== Lady Jessica Atreides (Charlotte Rampling) ===

Jodorowsky kept the Lady Jessica much like she was portrayed in Herbert's book, especially where her personal tug-of-war between her loyalty to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and her love of her concubine, Duke Leto, is concerned. But again, he uses the visual medium to make explicit what the book only implies. In this version, Jessica is outright depicted as the mother of a kind of virgin birth, which in turn escalates the Messiah-status of Paul:

<blockquote>''Jessica, a Bene Gesserit nun sent like a concubine to the duke to create a daughter who would be the mother of a Messiah, falls so much in love with Leto that she decides to blow a link in the chain and create a son, the Kwisatz Haderach, the savior. In using her Bene Gesserit powers - as soon as the duke, madly in love with her, confides his sad secret - Jessica lets herself be inseminated by a drop of blood of this sterile man... The camera followed (in the script) the red drop through the ovaries of the woman and accompanied its meeting with the ovule where, by an miraculous explosion, it inseminates the egg. Paul was born of a virgin, and not by the sperm of his father but by his blood...''</blockquote>

British actress and ex-model Charlotte Rampling (b. 1946) would certainly have been suited to the role. Without a doubt, she could have looked the part. It may even have been a stretch for her, since she more often than not portrayed villainous or "bitchy" roles, and the role of the mother of a Messiah-figure was far removed from these. In the end, however, Rampling refused in favor of her personal life:

<blockquote>''I had seen Charlotte Rampling in ''Zardoz''. I wanted her for Jessica. She refused the role. She wanted at the time to do two or three commercial films, her love life interested her more than art.''</blockquote>

The facts seem to lend credence to Jodorowsky's claim. In 1972, Rampling had married actor Bryan Southcombe and bore him a son, Barnaby, and when Jodorowsky came to call on her they were living in a ménage à trois relationship with a male model, certainly more than enough to keep her from a film project as demanding as ''Dune'' promised to be. The couple divorced in 1976, and Rampling continues to act today.

=== Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Orson Welles) ===

<blockquote>''Baron Harkonnen is an immense man of 300 kilograms. He is so fat and heavy that, in order to move, he needs to continually use anti-gravitational bubbles attached to his extremities... His delusions of grandeur have no limit: he lives in a palace constructed as a portrait of himself... This immense sculpture stands on a sordid swampy planet... In order to enter the palace, one has to wait for the colossus to open its mouth and stick out a tongue of steel (a landing strip...)''</blockquote>

Clearly, the role required an actor of considerable presence, charisma, and the ability to be quite literally larger than life. Who better than Orson Welles? The famous (or infamous) writer-actor-director (1915-1985) was at this time often sought for hosting, acting and narrating duties, and was frequently seen on the talk show circuit. Always he sought funding for his own film projects, many of them regrettably never made. Certainly, if Jodorowsky was successful in bringing Welles on board, his fee for the role would have been put to use in what film he was planning at the time. But did Welles agree to the role before the film was cancelled? Many years after the fact, both Jodorowsky and Brian Herbert spoke separately about this bit of casting as if it were a done deal. No quote from Welles can be found on the matter. When he died at the age of seventy, he was still trying to get financing for films that would never come, a situation that Jodorowsky himself could have sympathized with.

=== Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Salvador Dali) ===

<blockquote>''In my version of ''Dune'', the Emperor of the Galaxy is mad. He lives on an artificial planet of gold, in a palace of gold constructed according to the non-laws of anti-logic. He lives in symbiosis with a robot identical to him. The resemblance is so perfect that the citizens never know if they are facing the man or the machine...''</blockquote>

The idea of a robot double for the Emperor (an interesting addition when one considers that in the ''Dune Chronicles'', conscious robots have been illegal for more than ten millennia) was born out of necessity, due to the now-legendary financial haggle between the eccentric director and the far-more-eccentric celebrity painter. Jodorowsky wrote in the ''Metal Hurlant'' article of this clash of personalities:

<blockquote>''The actor that I wanted the most was Dali, for the small role of the mad Emperor... What an adventure!... Dali accepted with much enthusiasm the idea of playing the Emperor of the galaxy. He wanted to film at Cadaques and use a toilet made up of two intertwined dolphins as his throne. The tails would form the feet and the two open mouths would serve, one to hold the "pipi", the other to hold the "caca". Dali thinks that it is in very bad taste to mix the "pipi" and the "caca".''</blockquote>

===== The Negotiations Between Dali and Jodorowsky =====

<blockquote>''He was told that he would be needed for seven days. Dali replied that God made the universe in seven days and that Dali, not being less than God, must cost a fortune: $100,000 an hour. Probably upon arriving on the set, he would decide to film each day no more than an hour for the same price. The Dali-esque happening would cost us $700,000. We asked him for time, a night, to make a decision and we left each other. That night, I tore a page from a book on the tarot; it had a card reproduced on it: the Hanged Man. I wrote him a letter saying that the film couldn't pay him $700,000 dollars ... For $150,000, I wanted three days and no more than an hour and a half of filming. I also wanted to have a polyethylene puppet, his replica, to use as his double in the film. Dali got angry. He cried: "I'll have you like rats! I will film in Paris, but the set will cost you more than the landscape of Cadaques and the cadre of my museum. Dali costs $100,000 an hour!"''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''Bitter, he calmed down and accepted the idea of reproducing him in plastic if the sculpture was given to his museum after the film. We decided to definitively finish with the contract the next day. I had a discussion with Jean-Paul Gibon and we arrived at the conclusion that it was impossible to haggle with Dali. I meditated for a long time and I made this final decision: I reduced the role of Dali to a page-and-a-half of script. I accepted his price, $100,000 dollars an hour, but I would only use him for a single hour. The rest, I would film with his double. Dali couldn't allow himself to go back on his price. We went to see him. I gave him the little page-and-a-half and Dali accepted the proposition because his honor was safe. He would be the highest paid actor in the history of cinema. He would earn more than Greta Garbo.''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''Dali enthusiastically showed me his wooden bed as the sculpture of a dolphin. A worker was there, already making the blueprint of the dolphin to make the toilet. As much for Dali as for myself, the card of the Hanged Man, on which some words were written, served as a contract. Dali liked the aristocracy and like all men of noble spirit, he respected his word.''</blockquote>

The very mundanity of the contract - a scribbled-on tarot card - may account for the fact that the actual status of Dali's employment seems uncertain today. According to a biography of Dali by Ian Gibson, ''The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali'' (1997), at the time relations between Jodorowsky and Dali fell apart in October 1975, the director "had hoped to" sign Dali, but the book says nothing as to him actually ''being'' signed for the role. In any case, the relationship would fall apart, when tragic political events in Spain made Jodorowsky realize he had come across someone far more outlandish than he could ever hope to be.

===== The September 1975 Executions and Fallout for Dali =====
When Agence France-Presse came to Dali (1 October 1975) to get his opinion on the executions and their aftermath, Dali answered that the rally in Madrid and the protests outside Spain were "''the biggest present that could have been made to our Generalissimo Franco''." He continued digging his own hole, finally falling into it with a shocking climax describing his well-established views on what freedom meant to him:

<blockquote>''The success he's had today, with a crowd of more than two million people acclaiming him the greatest hero of Spain, could never have happened if there hadn't been these incidents. The hostility of the other countries has made him thirty years younger in a second. He's a wonderful person. This guarantees that the coming monarchy will be totally successful. We'll see then that Spain is a country where, in a few months, there'll be no more terrorism because they're going to be liquidated like rats. Three times more executions are needed. But there've been enough for the moment... Personally I'm against freedom. I'm for the Holy Inquisition. Freedom is shit, and that's why all countries fail when there's an excess of freedom. Lenin said so: "Freedom is no use for anything."''</blockquote>

Dali had long been a supporter of the Caudillo, and like so many who backed Franco, he may - or may not - have hated executions, but he hated civil war more, and was certain that a Spain without Franco's strong hand on it would collapse back into chaos. In the event, following Franco's death the following month, Spain pulled off its transition to a constitutional monarchy without incident, and Dali came to like the Caudillo's appointed successor, King Juan Carlos I, and support the King just as fervently. But Dali's remarks had provoked a thunderstorm of protest. The following day (2 October 1975), he tried to backpedal by explaining that he was against all forms of terrorism, and all death penalties, but since such penalties existed in some countries, "''It's not for me to meddle in how the law is applied.''" He maintained, however, that it would be a mistake to bring democracy to Spain, and hoped for the return of absolute monarchy.

Dali had succeeded only in doing more damage to himself. And for Jodorowsky, whose own politics lay one hundred and eighty degrees away from Dali's, the painter had become a liability he did not want. Aside from being personally offended by the remarks, it is likely Jodorowsky risked much by keeping a lightning rod for harsh criticism attached to the film. Brian Herbert describes the following incident in ''Dreamer of Dune'', which the Herberts learned of a year later amongst a list of bad news concerning developments on the project:

<blockquote>''...Jodorowsky (a left-winger politically) and Salvador Dali (a right-winger) were refusing to work with one another, having had a vociferous argument in front of others involved in the project.''</blockquote>

This "vociferous argument," held in full view of others, may have been the moment where the fallout over Dali's remarks came to a head. Whatever the case, Jodorowsky had been pushed too far and announced to the press that he had changed his mind about signing Dali to act in ''Dune'':

<blockquote>''I would be ashamed to use now in my work a man who in his masochistic exhibitionism demands the ignoble death of human beings.''</blockquote>

==Artwork==

H.R. Giger, who later designed the 'Aliens' in the Aliens film series, made artwork for the movie, as did English artist Chris Foss, whilst French comic book artist Jean Giraud, also known as Moebius, produced over 3,000 images for the film. Dan O'Bannon was to be in charge of the Special Effects.

==Music==

German electronic music pioneer Karl Heinz Stockhausen, Pink Floyd, French progressive rock group Magma, and English avant-rock group Henry Cow were all mooted as possibilities for the music score, with Brian Herbert writing in ''Dreamer of Dune'' that Jodorowsky hoped to reach agreement with either Mick Jagger or Pink Floyd to do the soundtrack.

==Changes from the novel==

Alejandro Jodorowsky was keen to have very distinct differences between his envisioning of Dune, and [[Dune|the novel]]. For example, Shaddam was to be portrayed as insane, living in an artificial planet made out of gold and inhabited by robot versions of himself so perfect that no one could tell the difference between the man and his machines. Also, in his version [[melange]] was a blue substance “with spongy consistency filled with a vegetable-animal life endowed with consciousness.”

==Failure==

From Dreamer of Dune:

''In October 1976, Mom and Dad made their third trip to Europe, largely to see what was going on with Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune movie project. They had been receiving secondhand information that the production was not going well ... In Paris, Dad and Mom met with representatives of the French film consortium holding the rights to film Dune, and received bad news. Jodorowsky's script was too complex, and would result in a mind-boggling fourteen-hour film. He had spent two million dollars getting the project under way, and it was becoming increasingly clear that the film could not be produced for anywhere near the $9,500,000 budget ... To make matters worse, Jodorowsky (a left-winger politically) and Salvador Dali (a right-winger) were refusing to work with one another, having had a vociferous argument in front of others involved in the project. Investors were getting wind of the production and personality problems, and funds were drying up ... When my parents returned to the United States they learned that Italian movie producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted to purchase the Dune film option from the French consortium. Dad had no objection, and as part of the new deal, he was retained as a technical adviser and paid to write the screenplay. De Laurentiis had recently produced the twenty-five-million-dollar special-effects extravaganza King Kong, and my father quipped, "Anyone who can make a giant ape should have no trouble with sandworms." ''

Long after the fact, in an interview for Louis Mouchet's documentary La Constellation Jodorowsky (1995), Jean-Giraud Moebius summed up his experience with the production in a manner that, perhaps, best summed up the whole attempt:

''For me, Dune was not a failure. The film was not made, that's all. What remains is the wonderful preparation. We were all euphoric. The film remains what it should be, a mirage between the dunes.''

==References==
The Greatest Film Never Made [http://www.excal.on.ca/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7672]

Rare Dune Concept Art From One Of Space Opera's Greatest Visionaries [http://io9.com/5408960/rare-dune-concept-art-from-one-of-space-operas-greatest-visionaries]

User:Gobalopper

2006-02-21T16:55:27Z

Gobalopper:

Jesse Reid [Gobalopper]