Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Dune: 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Contents

The Reverend Mother of the mysterious Bene Gesserit is a powerful character in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, but the book reveals even more about her.

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Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

From the moment the Bene Gesserit appears in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, with their black hooded robes in the dead of night, fans know that the mysterious sisterhood holds incredible influence. Their esteemed representative, The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is permitted to enter House Atreides and demand Paul participate in a pain test that would have almost assuredly resulted in death, had Lady Jessica not trained him to handle such a feat.

Fans of Frank Herbert’s book will know that there’s much more to The Reverend Mother than the film reveals. From what her duties are within the Bene Gesserit, to her position as a Truthsayer for the Emperor, she’s a figure of considerable power, whose dealings with House Atreides help shape its legacy on Arrakis and beyond the known universe.

10 She’s Not The Leader Of The Bene Gesserit

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Despite her formidable demeanor and having one of the most detailed costumes in Dune, the Reverend Mother is not the leader of the Bene Gesserit. There can be several Reverend Mothers at a time, and they -and less gifted sisters in the order– must report to the highest leader of the sisterhood: the Reverend Mother Superior.

The Reverend Mother Superior has control of the entire Bene Gesserit and expects absolute loyalty from her Reverend Mothers. When she dies, she carefully chooses her successor, much like the process for Reverend Mothers, so that they might impart their memories and personalities to another worthy woman.

9 Becoming A Reverand Mother Is Incredibly Difficult

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

If Paul Atreides thought his experience with the Gom Jabbar was difficult, it’s but a taste of what awaits a sister on her path to becoming a Reverend Mother. Gaius Helen Mohiam had to complete years of agonizing physical, intellectual, and psychological training in the sisterhood all before undergoing a dangerous ritual involving the Water of Life (derived from sandworms at the moment of their death by drowning).

She would have taken the Water of Life into her body knowing it could be fatal, putting her mind to the task of transforming its poison into something benign. This incredible process was known in the sisterhood as the Spice Agony, and the potency of the Water of Life turned Reverend Mothers’ eyes completely blue. After she survived, she would have gained memories from her female ancestors.

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8 Her Three Names Have Meaning

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Though she’s often referred to as simply “Reverend Mother” by her students, such as Lady Jessica when she’s first introduced to Paul Atreides, her full name –Gaius Helen Mohiam– carried specific meaning through a naming process.

Her first name “Gaius” is a Latin male name, as it must be for all Reverend Mothers, followed by a second name “Helen”, which is an English female name, and finally a third name “Mohiam”, which must be an Arabic or similarly exotic name.

7 Her Position As Truthsayer Gives Her Influence Over The Imperium

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

To become Truthsayer to the Emperor (shown here in David Lynch’s 1984 version) gives Reverend Mother a great deal of power and influence in imperial politics, even above the Council of Nine, a collective of fellow Reverend Mother Truthsayers responsible for guarding the Sacred Way of Truth, and preserving its objectives for the furtherment of humanity’s cosmic destiny.

Even as she joins the Nine in investigating humankind’s potential, including its passions, weaknesses, instincts, and customs, she uses her truthtrance ability to recognize deception and insincerity, not only on behalf of the Bene Gesserit, but the Emperor himself. Like all Truthsayers, she must be strong-willed, highly imaginative, and psychically sensitive to accomplish her tasks.

6 She Has Incredible Powers

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Like her fellow members of the Bene Gesserit, the Reverend Mother has an incredible array of powers at her disposal. She’s spent years honing her abilities, including Oral Analysis (tasting an item once and being able to break it down to the chemical level), Prana Bindu (altering her blood flow, heart rate, and body temperature to survive in extreme environments), and Fertility Control (when to get pregnant and the gender of the child).

Her most impressive abilities include the Weirding Way (an elite method of hand-to-hand combat), The Voice (using a certain sound frequency to give those around her direct orders), Truthsense (determining if those around her are telling the truth), and Petit Perception (discerning concealed weapons or a concealed thought). Even supplying the pain test for Paul Atreides on Caladan takes a great deal of the Reverend Mother’s focus.

5 She Can Transfer Her Memories To The Next Reverend Mother

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Like all Reverend Mothers, Gaius Helen Mohaim has inherited the memories of generations before her, having unlocked her genetic memory (Other Memory) after completing the Spice Agony using the Water of Life. When she decides to leave the corporeal plane, she can transfer all of her knowledge to a new Reverend Mother of her choosing, who will know the secrets of her female ancestral line.

In this way the Reverend Mother is not dissimilar to a walking, talking historical database, especially essential since even in the far, far future of Dune, computers have been banned.

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4 She Has Metal Teeth

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

With her face often shielded or veiled in the movie, it’s difficult to accurately see her features, but Herbert’s book description reveals how the character is supposed to look; “Her face peered out of the hood like a witch caricature — sunken cheeks and eyes, an overlong nose, skin mottled and with protruding veins”, with eyes “dark with the blue brilliance of her melange addiction.”

Of particular note are her “silvery metal teeth”, which Villeneuve doesn’t include in his version. In David Lynch’s version of the book from 1984, Reverend Mother has no facial covering and therefore her glittery grimace can be seen quite prominently.

3 She Could Have Easily Been Born A Fremen

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Wild Reverend Mothers can be found in cultures less involved with the Imperium, who have all the abilities inherent to a Reverend Mother from the Bene Gesserit but without any formal training. Granted, even these distinct Reverend Mothers owe their positions to the sisterhood’s strict religious engineering.

In this way, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim could have just as easily been found among the Fremen, where she would have been called a Sayyadina. Herbert’s books detail the subtle differences between Sayyadina and Reverend Mothers, such as knowledge of the Weirding Way, and how the luck of where one is born in the Imperium plays a large part in shaping one’s destiny.

2 Lady Jessica Is Her Daughter

Dune 10 Things Only Book Readers Know About Reverend Mother

Lady Jessica herself is a part of the Bene Gesserit breeding program in Herbert’s book, and is revealed to be the child of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and an unknown woman. In the “Dune” prequel series, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, it’s revealed that woman is the Reverend Mother.

In some ways, this concept lends more legitimacy to the Reverend Mother brokering a deal with House Harkonnen, and provides some context for her personal interest in killing the Duke beyond the Emperor’s or the Bene Gesserit’s, but some fans don’t believe that the choice is true to Herbert’s ultimate vision. Lady Jessica’s parentage may be a question revealed in Dune Part 2.

1 She Ultimately Tries To Destroy Paul Atreides

Though the Bene Gesserit’s breeding program has been trying to engineer a male Reverend Mother, a Kwisatz Haderach, for thousands of years, it doesn’t mean that when one appears the Reverend Mother is happy with it. She condemns the fact that Lady Jessica bore a son to Duke Leto I, because the Kwisatz Haderach was supposed to be the offspring of a son of House Arkonnen and a daughter of House Atreides.

In Herbert’s sequel to “Dune”, she actively tries to participate in a coup against Paul Atreides after he ascends to the Golden Throne, hoping to end him and the Jihad that has erupted in his name, to dire results.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dune-reverend-mother-book-facts-trivia/

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