10 Small Details You Missed In Dune

6. Bene Gesserit Impact On The Fremen Culture

Dune Mentat
Warner Bros.

When Paul passes his "Gom Jabbar" pain test, as the Reverend Mother speaks to Jessica she tells her "a path has been cleared." This is a small hint of the work the Bene Gesserit have been doing in the shadows on Arrakis.

The Bene Gesserit work in the shadows to spread their Missionaria Protectiva, a codename for their practice of creating superstitions in less technologically advanced cultures in order to manipulate and control them. They spread myths and legends in these primitive societies (such as the Fremen of Dune) to prepare them for their chosen one, the Kwisatz Haderach.

This is why the Fremen people saw Paul as their possible savior and referred to him as Lisan Al-Gaib (their prophesied messiah), because they had been conditioned to expect him for thousands of years by the Bene Gesserit. The Fremen didn't know however that the Kwisatz Haderach was meant to be the male equivalent of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother with the ability to see into the future and guide humanity on a better path.

After arriving at Dune, Jessica even speaks to one of the religious leaders of the Fremen, Shadout Mapes (who gives her the crysknife), and knows the exact buzz words to use to gain her trust, as her entire world-view was conditioned by the Bene Gesserit.

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Marcia Fry is a writer for WhatCulture and an amateur filmmaker.