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Book 1, Part 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dune, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Violence
Free Will and Fate
Environment and Human Culture
Human Cognitive Advances
Summary
Analysis
The epigraph from Princess Irulan’s text “Introduction to a Child’s History of Muad’Dib” tells of the legend that when Duke Leto was killed, a meteor was sighted in the skies above his ancestral palace on planet Caladan.
The legend of a meteor symbolizing Duke Leto’s death above his palace on Caladan, Leto’s familial and political stronghold, signals the weight of the Duke’s loss as an important player on the Imperium’s galactic stage.
Themes
In Arrakeen, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen looks over the city as it is overpowered by his troops. Explosives set off by his soldiers destroy the rest of Duke Leto’s army. The Baron’s Mentat, Piter, approaches him to relay that Sardaukar soldiers have arrived with the captured Duke. The Baron reflects on the reward of Arrakis that he has promised Piter for helping him defeat the Atreides. He is secretly planning to only leave Piter in charge of Arrakis for a short time, before replacing him with the Baron’s favored nephew, Feyd-Rautha.
As the narrator has previously shown, Baron Harkonnen is a leader who uses control and fear to influence people and events around him. Here he once more demonstrates the extraordinary lengths he will go to in his quest for increased power, killing innocent people and betraying allies including his Mentat, Piter.
Themes
The Baron Harkonnen calls for Dr. Yueh to present himself. Although the Baron has promised to reunite Yueh with his kidnapped wife, Yueh can tell from the Baron’s demeanor that his wife is dead. The Baron states that their bargain was for Yueh to betray House Atreides in exchange for the Baron freeing Yueh’s wife and permitting the doctor to join her—to fulfil this agreement, the Baron has Piter kill the Suk doctor.
It is no surprise that Baron Harkonnen continues to break promises. This time, he does so by killing Yueh, who is no longer useful to him.
Themes
Soldiers bring the defeated Duke Leto before Baron Harkonnen. Leto, now conscious, gains some hope when he hears that Jessica and Paul are alive and have escaped their captors in the desert. The Baron demands that the Duke reveal where they’ve fled, but Leto does not know. When the Baron leans down to the Duke to gloat over his defeat and threaten torture, Leto remembers to bite down on the false tooth implanted by Yueh. The Duke breathes out poisonous gas, sacrificing his life to try and kill the Baron. Piter and the guards in the room perish, but the Harkonnen leader manages to escape the deadly poison without harm.
Leto’s final scene showcases two of his finest values: care for his family and courage in the face of adversity. He sacrifices his life because he knows it is lost anyway and there is a chance that through his suicide he can also take the Baron down with him. Unfortunately the Baron escapes, leaving Paul to take up the Atreides mantle and avenge Leto’s untimely death.
Themes
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A Sardaukar guard demands that Baron Harkonnen show him the Duke Leto’s body to confirm Leto’s death for the Padishah Emperor. The Baron is embarrassed that Duke Leto has made him look weak in front of the Emperor and in front of his men. He’s also frustrated by the death of his valuable Mentat, Piter, as his plans for House Harkonnen leadership on Arrakis must change now.
Although Duke Leto failed to kill Baron Harkonnen, he has succeeded in weakening the Baron’s leadership through loss of respect and loss of a valuable human resource—Mentats are rare individuals throughout the Imperium, and Piter was one of the best.
Themes
