prophecies of Dune, part 2
The syncretism of religions, Catholicism and Islam and Buddhism, that I remember off the top of my head, in the series had import, I feel, too. But I may leave that for a part three of this blog series.
Herbert also had a keen interest in the ecology of the earth. He studied the sand dunes on the Oregon coast and how scientists battled with nature; against the slow creep of the sand dunes in the early part of the 20th century which nearly took over a town on the Oregon coast. They planted European beach grass was planted to halt the progression of the sand dunes which was engulfing roads, the cars and homes. It is interesting how in such cases sand dunes can continue to take over the land until there is nothing but desert. This phenomenon has happened in other lands around the world, like certain parts of Africa and the Middle East. I’ve heard that the Saharan desert, aeons ago, was significantly smaller than it is today and that many areas in the Middle East, places that encompassed ancient Biblical lands, were once garden-like and green, flowing with water. The desert has overtaken these places today. The role of water scarcity and ecology were important themes in the Dune series, as well as religion and politics. As they are today and even more-so than in the past. A.I. will become a major problem for us all in regards to access to clean, drinkable water, because the type of chips that were pursued use enormous amounts of energy and need fresh water to keep the massive data centers they inhabit from over heating.
(Spoiler alert!) Then, there is the question of the role of Woman. I speak of the frightening concept of the civilization of Ix. There is the mystery of the axlotl tanks throughout the series. The axlotl tanks of Ix and recurrent views on women’s roles in society among some internet communities seem similar in a certain way. The resurgence in primitive attitudes towards women in certain internet communities - the idea that all a woman is good for is having babies has roots in other things that I can write about in another post - one about fear of the future and the decay of a major civilization, which is a cycle the human family repeats throughout time. But, I digress.
That She, Woman, has no other value to her man or to society other than to give birth. And in the most primitive, give birth to sons. We can see the results if this attitude in China today. Too many young Chinese men cannot find a mate. While one can say that they can find other women outside the culture, and that has been done throughout time, that over time, radically changes culture which can create other issues that natalists don’t talk about. Or at least I don’t see them talking about them. That issue is people who grow up existing in two cultures and some may not align themselves with the father’s culture. They may choose to identify with the mother instead.
While I have traditional views on quite a few things this is not true on everything. One thing I will never support, as a woman, is this idea that I have no value beyond my womb. God would never have gifted me or other women with intelligent minds if this was the case. He would have approved of the idea of females simply being turned into axlotl tanks to simply breed, nothing but machine and flesh, a womb and a vagina that has no sentience nor even a mind. It reminds me of the Ixian civilization where the males have turned the females into breeding tanks, quite literally, machined tanks waiting to be inseminated. While this is not literally happening to woman today the idea that what you think or what is on your mind has no importance to a man was always ever present in every culture. The constant question of motherhood, or lack thereof brings attention to this theme in Herbert’s work. The attitude that women should love and take care of their families is Godly, a fine thing. It respects the traditional ideal of Womanhood. But the idea that all we are good for is to stay in the home and remain pregnant is ignorant. It’s the attitude behind the idea that can be the problem. Such disrespectful attitudes towards women in a culture usually signals that that culture is moving backwards, not towards traditional values but towards ignorance and darkness. Womankind was created as a helper by God for Man. Not a mule. When Adam first saw Eve he exclaimed his delight in poetry. At Genesis 2:23 he said:
Then the man said:
“This is at last bone of my bones.
And flesh of my flesh.
This one will be called Woman,
Because from man she was taken.”
Of course, things fell apart afterwards, but that’s gristle for another post. I would add that the Apostle Paul made it clear that one could find blessings from either marriage (and children) or singleness and this was true for both men and women. Woman has a purpose in God’s family, and birthing children is but one of those paths - not the only path.
This subject also reminds me of what happens in a society when machines are allowed to have too much influence over daily life. People are no longer human but numbers or objects. There seems to be a correlation here. The Ixian males saw one half of their planet’s population as nothing more than machine wombs, there to give birth and nothing more. They had no personhood, so they turned their females into grotesque, unsentient baby-making machines. Ixian females no longer had heads, chests, arms or legs, only abdomens, thighs and the necessary reproductive organs. The realization of it, when I first read it as a girl, was frightening. And it has always stayed with me. I don’t think this was shown in any of the films made about the series over the years, not even the latest ones. I think I understand. Such a thing would have been too much for people. But it’s something to ponder, as we all sit on the edge and watch the fall of Western Civilization.
Check out my Red World trilogy, very much inspired by the Dune series. An audiobook version is in the works.
Happy reading!
