72 pages • 2 hours read
Frank HerbertGod Emperor of Dune
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1981A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 31-40Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 31 Summary
In an epigraph from The Stolen Journals, Leto explains that his ancestors are his cells, and he is their body.
Leto forces the captured Tleilaxu to perform a dance in Fremen garb. The announcement of his marriage to Hwi disturbs the Fish Speakers, who view themselves as Leto’s only brides. Moneo fears the marriage will confirm the Tleilaxu’s lurid rumors and incite more revolts, but Leto welcomes the attacks. Since meeting Hwi, Leto has been free of loneliness for the first time in ages, and he wishes to experience emotions in this last stage of his life. Hwi reminds him of the beauty and sweetness of life, which makes humankind worth saving. He instructs Moneo to arrange for the wedding to take place in Tabur Village. Leto regards Moneo’s loyalty as its own kind of marriage—an aristocratic oath to privilege and duty that contains a seed of rot. He puts his hopes in Siona and the prospect that she will not follow in her father’s footsteps.
Chapter 32 Summary
In an epigraph from the Oral History, the voice of Ghanima quotes her father’s warning to not make heroes.
Duncan has reached the stage Leto calls “The Since Syndrome” (372), a condition marked by a ghola’s inevitable suspicions and angst about his cyclical existence. Duncan feels dislocated and detests his designation as a breeding stud. He resents Leto’s prohibitions against his engaging in battles and pursuing Hwi. He tells Leto he has no right to resurrect gholas without their permission and strip them of the “magic” (375) of a life that is unique and singular. Duncan is repulsed by the news of Leto’s engagement to Hwi, and unconsciously he glances over Leto’s body in search of sexual organs. Leto tells Duncan that he loves and trusts Hwi, and he senses that Duncan struggles between his doubts and his desire to trust Leto. Duncan wishes to exile himself, but there is no place to go. Leto explains that Moneo possesses an aristocratic mind, one that relies too heavily on the past and will always refuse to “step aside” (379) from their place in history. Leto claims that aristocratic mentality will die with him, and he encourages Duncan to create frontiers and surprises. Duncan expresses his disapproval of Leto’s actions but resolves to uphold his oath to him.
Chapter 33 Summary
An epigraph from The Stolen Journals describes how words fail to capture a prophet’s infinite vision.
When Leto learns that Duncan has disobeyed him by seeing Hwi, he commands Moneo to speed up the wedding plans. Leto contemplates replacing Duncan but is unsure he can wait a year for the Tleilaxu to manufacture another ghola. Moneo senses the Worm strongly in Leto’s shaking hands and assures him he will speak to Duncan and Hwi. Leto knows that Hwi has been initiating the encounters. He is torn by the rivalry, but he does not want to deprive her of her needs.
Chapter 34 Summary
An epigraph from The Stolen Journals states that governments are useful if they refrain from tyranny. Leto claims to teach the lesson of tyranny by example.
Leto traverses the Sareer without his Royal Cart, and the desert sand invigorates him. He feels liberated from the Citadel’s constricting tunnels and the burdens of the Golden Path. Siona arrives at the Citadel and asks him if he is a god or a human. Leto explains that he no longer consumes human food but still feels haunting pains of hunger for his humanity. The only part of him that remains human is his face, and he misses the sense of touch. He will never have children and has only experienced his life in the physical form of a child and the pre-worm. Siona reluctantly begins to feel sympathy for Leto. He explains that he merged with the sandtrout and sacrificed his humanity for the Golden Path. He tells Siona that he grieves over losing the people he loved, like Siona’s mother, and that he loves Moneo, too. Siona is moved to tears, but she declares that he has no right to rule and is no different from the many other tyrants who have claimed to serve the people’s best interests. Leto says that words will not convince her of his purpose and instructs her to prepare for her test.
Chapter 35 Summary
In an epigraph from The Stolen Journal, Leto learns about a disturbing legend that claims Paul Muad’Dib hid a giant horde of spice on a planet other than Arrakis, where he lives still.
Echoing Leto, Moneo instructs Duncan to stay away from Hwi, and the command only infuriates Duncan further. Duncan storms back to his room and finds Hwi waiting for him. She intends to marry Leto but wants to address their mutual attraction. She was trained to please an Atreides, and Duncan is more an Atreides in principles than other men are in blood. The two embrace and sleep with each other. Hwi’s love for Duncan permitted her to risk this one encounter, but she tells him they can never again be lovers. She chooses to be Leto’s bride because his needs are greater than Duncan’s. She plans to tell Leto of their encounter and assures Duncan that no harm will come to him because Leto would never do anything to hurt her.
Chapter 36 Summary
In an epigraph from The Stolen Journals, Leto claims that all people carry ancestral memories.
Leto learns that Duncan has been questioning the Fish Speakers about their origins and childhood. Duncan believes that the condition of a people reflects the nature of their ruler—a piece of wisdom he learned in his Atreides training. Leto acknowledges that he has been deliberately unjust to his people and has manipulated religion to instill subservience. Frightened by Leto’s admissions, Moneo assures Leto that he has done no wrong. Leto’s agitation awakens the Worm in him, and he leaps out of his Royal Cart towards Moneo. Moneo flees from the room as Leto thrashes and shouts for him to prepare Siona’s test.
Chapter 37 Summary
In an epigraph from The Stolen Journals, Leto describes the trance of his ancestral memories as a “timeless awareness” (425).
Moneo instructs Siona on how to use a stillsuit, and Leto leads her far out into the desert. Siona rides his back on a portion of the journey, and the expansive dune landscape awakens the Fremen in both of them. Enraptured by the scenery, Siona is unaware that they have traveled for nearly four hours. No tracks mark the sixty kilometers they have spanned. Leto informs her that the test is beginning. She must trust in her innate abilities to survive and use her awakened past to see the Golden Path. Leto tells her he will not abandon her, but she must find her own way out of the desert or die trying.
Chapter 38 Summary
An epigraph from The Stolen Journal states that the word “Soldier” is terrible in any language.
Duncan accosts Moneo, demanding to know Leto’s whereabouts. Moneo informs him that Leto is away testing Siona. He senses that Duncan’s anger is rooted in his discovery of two Fish Speakers kissing. Duncan calls their behavior a perversion, and Moneo finds his reaction immature and “antique” (442). Moneo tells him that gay people have always been in their heritage and have served as some of their best warriors. Concerned for Siona’s survival, Moneo has little patience for Duncan’s inanity and tells him to shut up. Duncan loses his temper and lunges at Moneo with his knife. Moneo, a trained Atreides, easily steps out of the way, and Duncan falls on his face. Duncan registers with shock that he has just attacked an Atreides, and Moneo looks down on him with pity and calls him “an older model” (446).
Chapter 39 Summary
In an epigraph from The Stolen Journal, Leto argues that rebellions are mistaken if they think they are immune to economics.
In the desert, Leto teaches Siona how to cool down in the desert’s heat and sings ancient Fremen songs to her. Leto is concerned that Siona does not seal the mouth flap of her stillsuit to conserve her water, but he does not warn her. They reach the flatland, the most desolate part of the desert, and he permits her to sleep in the cradle of his segments to escape the evening’s cold. Leto believes Siona may not pass the trial, and he begins to pity her. He steels himself against sympathy by recalling all of humanity’s past mistakes and the need to stay on course. The sand hastens his transformation into a worm, and he finds it increasingly difficult to repress his human desires for compassion.
Chapter 40 Summary
An epigraph from The Stolen Journals describes the profound moment when humankind first drew a painting in a cave to express the soul.
Moneo apologizes to Duncan for making him feel “inadequate” (464), and Duncan acknowledges that Moneo was merely defending himself. Moneo tells Hwi and Duncan that Leto has forbidden them to see each other again. Duncan argues that Leto is no God and takes no responsibility for his abuses of power. Moneo retorts that Leto has taken responsibility by sacrificing his human form. Moneo divulges that he has seen the horrific vision of humankind’s extinction and is grateful not to be in Leto’s place. He knows he could never endure what Leto has, and that knowledge has made him a believer. Hwi tells Moneo that she understands Leto in the same way, and Duncan storms out of the room. He pities Moneo’s adherence to his sense of duty and recognizes that he was once no different.
Chapters 31-40 Analysis
As a ceremony symbolizing duty and commitment, the impending wedding between Leto and Hwi heightens the novel’s examination of the darker side of those values, emphasizing the necessity of rebellion as a corrective. Leto is unique among autocrats in recognizing that rebellion is a crucial element to ensure humanity’s survival. “Leto’s Peace” is intended to teach The Lessons of Tyranny: that extreme forms of allegiance to political and religious institutions become dangerous methods of suppression, promoting apathy and self-imposed subservience to a higher authority. The disturbing devotion of the Fish Speakers during the Siaynoq ritual and Nayla’s subservience to Leto are two early, striking examples. These chapters demonstrate a spectrum of loyalties and rebellions, with scenes alternating between Siona’s test in the desert and the triangle of Leto’s servants: Moneo, Duncan, and Hwi.
Moneo typifies the loyal servant to a fault. Despite his rebellious beginnings, Moneo fails to challenge the paradox of the Golden Path and fully accepts that the ends justify the means. Leto observes, “He follows me because he believes I hold the best course for human survival…This is humanity and both of us agree: it must endure!” (367). The difference between Leto and Moneo is that Leto is aware of his strategic tyranny and knows enough to loathe his methods. He tells Moneo that he has created “a vehicle of injustice” (421) and “a million wrongs cannot give rise to one right” (423). Leto frequently provokes Moneo into criticizing his methods, but Moneo only amplifies his allegiance, proclaiming, “But, Lord! You do no wrong!” (421). The irony of Moneo’s loyalty is that in devoting himself fully to the Golden Path, he has failed the path’s very purpose.
Moneo’s faith in Lord Leto is so absolute that he knowingly risks his life at the hands of his wrathful god on a daily basis. Moneo is constantly on guard for worm signs—the trembling of Leto’s hands, the glazing of his eyes, and the convulsions of his vestigial limbs. At any moment, the Worm will emerge and attack without thinking, and Moneo is willing to die at the hands—or teeth—of the god he worships. Moneo illustrates the dangers of extreme devotion, as he literally endangers his life each time he submits to Lord Leto. Moneo saw the horror of why Leto became a monstrous sandworm in his own test, and he absolves Leto of wrongdoing. Leto dared to do what others feared, sacrificing his humanity for the good of all humanity—something Leto’s own father refused to do. Moneo has seen the Golden Path, and he tells Hwi and Duncan, “And I was only glad that I did not have to make his decision . . . that I could content myself with being a follower” (471). He serves Leto not because he has been manipulated or seeks self-preservation, but because he believes in Leto’s choice and the Golden Path. Moneo elevates Leto to the status of God because of his sacrifice and his cognitive prowess. In Moneo’s eyes, Leto is “all of God that need be seen… Is that not miracle enough?” (469). He simply states, “I recognize my duty and I do it” (467), and to him, the Golden Path presents no paradoxes.
In the spectrum of loyalties, Duncan fulfills the roles of both faithful servant and potential rebel at this point in the novel. For Duncan, the name Atreides signals not simply a powerful and privileged bloodline, but principles of companionship, just rulership, and integrity. When Duncan thinks about why he is loyal to the Atreides banner, he recalls his friendship with and devotion to Leto I, Leto’s grandfather and the man who saved him from Harkonnen enslavement. In Leto, Duncan sees “all of the Atreides who were, all of them. It’s a terrible thing, but I knew those people. They were my friends” (265). The name also invokes fair governance. Because of his Atriedes training, Duncan interviews Fish Speakers and visits villages to verify whether their conditions reflect good rulership. Duncan’s dutiful fulfillment of the Atreides principles even causes Hwi to fall in love with him. She explains, “I was designed to please an Atreides. Leto says his Duncan is more an Atreides than many born to the name” (414). The paradox that Duncan struggles with is not whether the ends justify the means, but whether he betrays the Atreides principles by serving a leader who embodies those principles in a profoundly ambivalent way.
When Leto dishonors what the name stands for, Duncan is willing to voice his dissent, but he doesn’t renounce his service to Leto. On several occasions, Duncan states, “That’s not Atreides” (314) to signify his moral stance against Leto’s abuses of power, such as the flogging of the Tleilaxu ambassador. During the Siaynoq ritual, Leto pressures Duncan to publicly declare his loyalty to the God Emperor. Duncan carefully chooses his words, knowing that the Fish Speakers will kill him if he challenges Leto’s godhood. He declares, “Let no one question my loyalty. I am loyal to the Atreides” (286). In this instance, the invocation of the Atreides name functions as a covert declaration of rebellion against Leto. An appeal to the Atreides name helps Duncan navigate the moral ambiguities of his duties, yet his dependence on the name also signals a need to follow orders sanctioned by a higher authority. This is most evident when Duncan attacks Moneo and realizes that “he had actually tried to attack an Atreides. Moneo was Atreides. Shock held Idaho immobile” (446). Duncan regards his behavior as a breaking of a taboo, which demonstrates how the need to obey a name is deeply engrained in him.
Both Moneo and Duncan vow to serve Leto. Duncan’s loyalty is based on honoring the Atreides family, whereas Moneo’s devotion is based on the fear and awe of Leto’s elevation as a god. Herbert makes clear that military and political institutions can inspire the same kind of blind worship as religious institutions, and indeed that there is often a symbiosis between them. By showing how Leto uses both religion and military prowess to inspire devotion in his subjects, Herbert emphasizes the theme of Institutional Corruption. Part of Leto’s Golden Path depends on people rebelling against any type of absolute leader. Like Moneo and Duncan, Hwi vows loyalty to Leto, and her marriage represents a third type of duty that binds her to Leto’s lost humanity out of compassion. Without needing to see the Golden Path for herself, Hwi knows that Leto is “neither devil nor god, but something never seen before and never to be seen again because [his] presence removes the need” (356). Hwi senses the paradox of Leto’s rule and comforts him in his loneliness. Although Hwi’s character is primarily passive (the Ixians have conditioned her on a cellular level to please Leto), she still manages to engage in her own acts of disobedience. She rebels against her original Ixian masters when she renounces their authority and gives Anteac information about her upbringing. Hwi even “rebels” in a certain way by fulfilling her desires for Duncan. She tells Duncan, “I have needs too” (416), and their affair, however brief, suggests that her devotion to Leto’s needs does not preclude her pursuing her own. In some ways, their affair is also the impetus for Duncan to fully rebel against Leto, as Leto is now a rival for Hwi’s love.
As Duncan’s loyalty wavers, the converse happens with Siona. In the beginning of the novel, Siona is the clear rebel—angry and obstinate to both Duncan and Leto. As the novel progresses, she gradually begins to question who her enemies are and why she stands against them. She reevaluates Duncan’s humanity when she sees his reaction to his predecessor’s child. Realizing Duncan’s distress, she “felt betrayed by her own desires for revenge. Idaho was not simply a ghola, something alien and unworthy of consideration” (263). Duncan may serve Leto as his Commander, but he is also new to the world and alone. Only when she is forced to share an ornithopter and then a room with him does Siona learn that her enemies are not always what she assumes.
Likewise, Siona is forced into the desert with Leto, and the staunch rebel discovers that she sympathizes with the enemy she derogatively calls “the Worm” (74). In her experiences in the desert, Siona develops a closeness with Leto that stems from his ability to awaken the Fremen in her. She has an intuitive and poignant relationship with the sand, and “[e]verywhere she looked, the desert demanded recognition…And the old-old memories were beginning to churn” (432). Leto’s details of his lost humanity draw out a “reluctant sympathy” (398) from Siona, but unlike Hwi, she does not submit to him. Leto “saw the moistness in her eyes, but the line of her jaw still spoke of angry resolution” (404). In the final chapters, Siona has no trouble differentiating between the tyrant and the Golden Path. She invokes the rebellious strength of the Fremen without the religious idolatry that unleashed a holy war in the previous Dune books with Paul Muad’Dib.
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