Paul let himself be blinded and maimed- how selfish??? -- DUNE Novels Discussion Board

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05/ 5/24 12:49:34 [ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4 ]

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Date Posted: 18:20:39 06/26/03 Thu
Author: RavensZim
Subject: Paul let himself be blinded and maimed- how selfish???
In reply to: Crysknife 's message, "I agree" on 11:47:22 06/26/03 Thu

I side completely with Idaho here. I think your opinions are somewhat colored by the focus on Irulan in the mini-series, and on the fact that Leto 2 made demands on paul that he shold have taken the Golden Path on himself...
Paul saw that Chani would die in ANY vision of the future where she gave birth. He could have simply told her this and taken a different course...
Where does everyone get the impression that Paul couldn't control his own reproductive abilities? Don't you think that, knowing Chani was being poisoned, he could have found a different way to avoid giving birth with HER?
The Bene Gesserit of the later novels looked back on paul and said "Remember the lesson of Muad-Dib- The prescient CREATES the future he sees- Even if he tries to avoid it." Paul was NOT aware of this fact-(this very fact is what made the Golden Path neccesary- as we later find in God emperor and the other novels) Paul became TRAPPEd by his visions, finally succumbing to them.
Paul was offered the chance to have Chani back with him by the Bene Teilax. It sounded horrific- to be bound to those dirty teilaxu- but didn't Leto 2 become bound by his need for a duncan Idaho all those many hundreds of years?
I would suggest that Paul made the very brave choice to follow the path that led to his blindness, led to his wife's death, only when his visions of the future eventually were becoming so limited that he had an either/or choice. Either Paul avoids the blinmding trap and Chani lives and the jihad would continue for a very long time(and many BILLIONS of more lives) OR he accepts the ONLY way he sees out of it, this vision that becomes his future.
Paul avoided her pregnancy for 10 years while trying to find a way to end the wars.
Leto 2 later tells Paul "You didn't look far enbough in the future! Mankind itself will eventually DIE without one of us taking this path." in so many words...
Paul's most "selfish" acts came in Dune, after he was sent running into the desert by the Harkonnens and the emperor,where he had the choice to either embrace the Messiah role, use his position to re-build his "House,"(remember how adament his father and mother were about his positioin as Duke) and seek revenge on his enemies rather than finding a differetn way to live with his far reaching prescient powers.
By the time Dune Messiah roles around, Paul had become completely out of control of his visions and his rule over the empire through his powers.
Lastly, Paul made the MORAL decision. The decision that he, as an Attreides and an honorable man. Leto 2 was the harder of the two men, and had a savage Fremen streak that allowed him to do some more severe things to 'mankind,' so the future he saw wouldnb't come to pass....Just my "take' on it all, But I' think most of you would agree?

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Replies:

I agree -- IDAHO, 18:49:42 06/26/03 Thu