This message contains spoilers For the series of “Dune” books.
In the “dune: part” of Denis Villneuve, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) undergoes a surprising transformation. As soon as she ingests the mysterious Water of Life, Jessica uses her status as a new Reverend mother to legitimize the propaganda besserit of the Kwisatz Haderach which altered fate. She throws her son Paul (Timothee Chalamet) as a figure of the Messiah, which the Fremen interpret like the Lisan Al Gaib of their messianic prophecies (which, without their knowledge, is also part of the religious propaganda besserit). The transformation of Jessica is the turning point in the continuation of Villeneuve, while its formerly sincere intentions are transformed into deception and extremism, which it uses as fuel to help Paul to reshape Arrakis.
While the “Dune” series of Villeneuve has not yet finished Jessica’s arc in this scanning saga, even this nuanced representation on the screen only painted half-immig. Frank Herbert’s “dune” opens with Lady Jessica, awakening Paul, 15, for Fonful Gom Jabbar Trial who will determine if it is worthy, and this opening passage lives in a living way the character of Jessica. During her conversation with Gaius Helen Mohiam, the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, we learn that she went against the order of Bene Gesserit to be born a girl with the Duke Ledo Atreids, and designed Paul of his own will. Even when Mohiam reprimands her, Jessica firmly defends her choice to be born Paul, even if the organization of which she is part does not size space for individual desires and autonomy. She love Duke Leto – blasphemy in the context of the genetic breeding program of Bene Gesserit – and this is only a matter of time before she chooses to forge her own path.
Villeneuve’s version of this scene takes place a little differently, because we are not aware of Jessica’s thoughts, with the exception of her maternal anxiety and her fear during the trial. These slight variations are understandable – even necessary – because Jessica on the screen must transmit a plot in a short time. In this spirit, let’s look at how Herbert Painte Jessica throughout the “Dune” saga.
Jessica’s inner world is rich and complex in dune books
A major distinction between the book and the film Jessica is that Villeneuve supervises a piece of its actions by doubt and suspicion. In the first film “Dune”, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) asks Jessica if she will protect her son, suggesting that her loyalty diverges according to her two roles as the mother of Paul and priestess Bene Gesserit. Later, after the death of Leto, Paul accuses Jessica of having conceived him as a “monster” in his rage and his sorrow, and she seems guilty, because she can see how much the burden weighs strongly on her son. The scene also omits the revelation that Jessica is the daughter of Baron Harkonnen, because this twist is reserved at a more dramatic culmination in “the second part”, allowing us to focus only on the complicated dynamics of Paul and Jessica. He hates that she overwhelmed him with such a terrible goal, but is also aware that his choices were guided by love and an instinct to protect.
Jessica d’Herbert makes her presence feel more silent and less dramatic, as when she calls into question the logic behind the watering of date palm trees on the arakkis even when the local population often dies due to dehydration. This discussion takes place between Jessica and Dr. Yueh, where the first expresses that such practices (rooted in religious belief) are a waste in a place where water is a precious resource. In Villeneuve’s film, this role is given to Paul, because more time is devoted to the development of his perspectives towards the Fremen and their customs. Another distinction in Herbert’s books is that Jessica does not share a controversial relationship with Chani at any time, because she actively encourages him to stay alongside Paul after having married Irulan for political reasons. “I love your chani. I accept it,” she said to Paul at some point, because she understands how powerful love can be.
In addition, when Jessica’s daughter, Alia, is modified by the water of life in her belly, she accepts the fact that she must arise an abomination (unstable individuals with unlocked genetic) because Alia is her last Link with Leto. It is not explicitly stated by Herbert, but it is clear that Jessica hopes against the hope that Alia will somehow escape her fate of being an abomination, just like the way she believes Paul Paul East The Fated Kwisatz Haderach. Unfortunately, these hopes end with a tragedy.
The fate of Jessica in the children of Dune is tragically soft-amer
After Paul’s ascent on the throne, Jessica fulfills several administrative roles after the Atreids went to visit their native planet, Caladan, whom she presides like Duchess. Set with Gurney Halleck, Jessica strengthens the ethics of equity in Caladan by evoking a contrast with Giedi Prime, where the Harkonns rule oppresses and subjugated. We are aware of Jessica’s emotions as a person who does not fulfill a kind of royal or religious role during this period, because she is presented as someone who loves local street traditions of the planet. A crucial link between Jessica and one of the local traditions of Caladan – nicknamed the empty man – is drawn to lead the “dune” saga to its most important peak.
In Villeneuve “part two”, Jessica plays a more direct and harmful role during Paul’s ascent to the Messiah, while the book depicts it as a less involved figure which is helpless in opposition to its uncontrolled power, but hope that he will do the right. When Alia follows similar traces and declares herself Mahduner (the modified version of the term Fremen, Mahdi), Jessica completely withdrew to Caladan, because she knows she knows thought She cannot do little to stop such madness. This refusal to intervene at a high price: Paul is stabbed to death by the priests of Alia and Alia jumps from a window when she died like a last attempt to conservation of autonomy (as she was possessed by her grand- deceased father). Jessica is horrified beyond the measure, because her two children succumb to different shades of fanaticism and the subsequent tragedy. The cycle continues with its grandchildren, with disastrous effects.
Jessica returns to the ways of Bene Gesserit and Farad’n Corrino (which would later become the exclusive concubine of the Empress of Padishah Ghanima atreids) in her own way, again influencing events that inadvertently affect future generations. Although Jessica lives for a long time and dies a natural death, her heritage is that of shame and prudence. The Bene Gesserit marks its actions as a “Jessica crime”, which becomes a list of lists taught to prevent the fall of humanity.
