Yes, I am willing to admit that, all things being equal, there is the possibility that she could have heard about the pregnancy, if you are willing admit that it is possible that she did not hear about it.Ampoliros wrote:You are right about one thing, we are not dealing with anything like a normal family dynamic.redbugpest wrote:They have almost nine months in which to tell her (the pregnacy was accelerated, but I don't think that means it happend overnight). The Bene Gesserit Breeding Program is a major component in Dune lore. The Bene Gesserit would be extremely interested in Paul’s kids, don’t you think? Shaddam has a spy network, Jessica and Gurney have a spy network, the Bene Gesseritt absolutely know that Chani is pregnant, they tell Irulan she might have to abort any pregnancy in Dune Messiah. Aside from their multiple concerns over Chani’s wild bloodline, there are multiple political concerns surrounding Paul’s having an heir to his empire.
Paul had pres(ci)ence, and may not have wanted his mother to know, because he did not want her to be there. Since FH never said one way or the other about if Paul told her, either option is fair game.
Where do you see evidence the Jessica and Gurney are spying on Paul and Chani? Jessica is gone, back on Caladan to grieve for her Duke. Again, we are not dealing with anything like a normal family dynamic here.
Children of Dune pg 30 Gurney has agents on Arrakis who foil an assassination attempt aimed at Jessica's arrival. Alia is completely unaware of it until Gurney and Stilgar's men act. And before you suggest that this is after Winds, think on if there are any loyal Atredies men serving on Arrakis that would inform Jessica on their own volition, thinking it strange that Alia wanted it kept a secret. (even KJA does not suggest that Alia would try to hide Paul's death from Jessica)
Jessica is also well aware that Alia is a prime candidate for Abomination. Somehow I doubt she'd sit back and wait for Alia to tell her "Mom, I'm being possessed by Baron Harkonnen"
Even if Paul or Alia didn't want Jessica to know, she still would have heard about it. When Michael Jackson died, did you see it on TV or did someone tell you? Did you tell anyone or overhear anyone else telling people? News travels fast and Paul's death wasn't exactly a secret.
Jessica has many allies and friends who might have brought the news, even accidentally. The Bene Gesserit would be highly interested in Paul's offspring and would have contacted Jessica in an attempt to regain her allegiance and assistance in that matter. Why, in fact, that is most of the tension surrounding Jessica in Children of Dune.
The real point to make here is that this, once again, is a choice of interpretation by the authors, and really plays no key role in the story. For all we know, there was some stray note from FH talking about how Paul wanted the pregnancy kept secret. I think that there must have been a reason why the authors chose to state this, as it would have been easier to just say she knew, as it is a scenario that would be just as plausible.
Try asking at DN (I hadn’t had my account activated yet, or I would).
Remember, 9 years elapsed between DM and CHoD. Gurney could have installed his spy network after the events of WoD, as Jessica became more concerned about her daughter and the twins…