Why Weren't RM Mohiam's Eyes Blue?

[SandRider]

say Thing, did you grab that pic for your Xmas Avatar ?



also, It's not too early to begin thinking about Rocky Horror ....

Darkness must flow...

[A Thing of Eternity]

AWESOME!

[Cpt. Aramsham]

Dragging up an old thread to address the original question. In Dune Messiah, when Irulan visits Mohiam in her cell, there's this line: "The Reverend Mother's eyes, dark with the blue brilliance of her melange addiction, stared up at Irulan, measuring, waiting, observing minutiae." So, at least by this time, her eyes were in fact blue.

[lotek]

Lamest.
Bot.
Ever.

[Naib]

Started the Dune yet and something caught my attention this time:

A beginning is the time for taking the most
delicate care that the balances are correct. This
every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin
your study of the life of Muad’Dib, then, take care
that you first place him in his time: born in the
57th year of the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV.
And take the most special care that you locate
Muad’Dib in his place: the planet Arrakis. Do not
be deceived by the fact that he was born on
Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there.
Arrakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his
place.
— from “Manual of Muad’Dib” by the Princess Irulan

In the opening epithet Frank states that the beginning is a time to ensure things are balanced. However the entire first chapter is about how imbalanced the universe is. The Atreides are leaving Caladan. The BG are put off by the betrayal of Jessica in producing a male. Paul is rightly off centre with everything he's going through and learned about the future.

As I finished the chapter I was struck how well Frank planned and wrote this chapter in creating tension right from the start simply by saying one thing and subtly revealing the opposite.

[georgiedenbro]

Started the Dune yet and something caught my attention this time:
In the opening epithet Frank states that the beginning is a time to ensure things are balanced. However the entire first chapter is about how imbalanced the universe is.

I think you should take a look at his exact wording from the epigraph again:

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.

That does not imply that things are supposed to be balanced, as in, stable. It implies that they need to be set up correctly. 'Balances' in this context derives from balances as in scales, that everything is weighed properly. In other words, the BG need to be damn sure they have everything correctly under control for things to work properly for them. But part of that control involves a carefully nurtured imbalance in the universe: one they're both observed, and cultivated, to produce the necessary environment for the KH.

Now I think you are right that this epigraph does encapsulate something really critical, but it's about the entire story. The BG absolutely needed to have things balanced correctly, and they most decidedly did not. Between Jessica on the one hand, Yueh on the other, and the nature of the KH himself as the clincher, their plans were subject to critical errors. Simply put, they knew they needed for everything to work perfectly, and it blew up in their face.

[Naib]

Started the Dune yet and something caught my attention this time:
In the opening epithet Frank states that the beginning is a time to ensure things are balanced. However the entire first chapter is about how imbalanced the universe is.

I think you should take a look at his exact wording from the epigraph again:

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.

That does not imply that things are supposed to be balanced, as in, stable. It implies that they need to be set up correctly. 'Balances' in this context derives from balances as in scales, that everything is weighed properly. In other words, the BG need to be damn sure they have everything correctly under control for things to work properly for them. But part of that control involves a carefully nurtured imbalance in the universe: one they're both observed, and cultivated, to produce the necessary environment for the KH.

Now I think you are right that this epigraph does encapsulate something really critical, but it's about the entire story. The BG absolutely needed to have things balanced correctly, and they most decidedly did not. Between Jessica on the one hand, Yueh on the other, and the nature of the KH himself as the clincher, their plans were subject to critical errors. Simply put, they knew they needed for everything to work perfectly, and it blew up in their face.

You are quite correct. Balances v Balanced does make for a subtle yet critical difference. If things are balanced a system is at equilibrium and nothing changes. If the balances are correct then it implies movement in a desired direction. Movement along the BG planned path but nothing of the sort happened.

[georgiedenbro]

Balances v Balanced does make for a subtle yet critical difference. If things are balanced a system is at equilibrium and nothing changes. If the balances are correct then it implies movement in a desired direction. Movement along the BG planned path but nothing of the sort happened.

Yes, exactly.

[the rev]

The talk about balances by Princess Irulan refers to a journey. The journey of understanding Muad'Dib. Before you depart on a journey you must make sure your balances are correct. You've got 20 lbs of beans, 5 lbs of coffee, and so on. This is why she then talks about dates, that a student should learn in a high school history course. So the student is prepared for the journey. And the suitcase shouldn't be so heavy it cannot be carried.

In any discussion of Dune we all overthink and see more to the words then Herbert originally intended. These threads are riddled with overthinking. It's what makes the writing so good and the books so great. Don't know how many times I've read them and still find them entertaining because there's so many angles.