The first few pages of Dune foreshadow
that something destructive is in store for Duke Leto and the Atreides
family. For example, the reverend mother warns that something terrible
is going to happen to the Atreides family and that Paul’s father,
the duke, will die soon. When she suggests that Paul could be the
Kwisatz Haderach, we begin to think this may be an important role
in the preservation of the Atreides family. The reverend mother’s
warnings concern Paul, who thinks she speaks “as though [his] father
were dead.” Furthermore, Paul’s dream about the caves and the girl
who calls him Usul also seems to be a premonition of Paul’s future
and the novel’s future events.
Although Paul is Dune’s main character,
Herbert shifts perspective freely from character to character within
a single page or even within a few paragraphs. We read the reverend
mother’s thoughts one moment, and Jessica’s thoughts the next moment.
Herbert’s narrative technique provides us with an extraordinary
amount of information, which is enriching, but also confusing. His
narrative is flooded with countless names and concepts.
The technique becomes more familiar as the novel progresses. Eventually,
Herbert allows us to know what each character thinks and feels consistently.
Herbert’s tactic provides as much information as possible about
the characters and their world, but it removes much of the dramatic
tension that might exist if we were less aware of the characters’
intentions and motivations.
