Editing Dune (novel) (section)

==Themes and influences==
The ''Dune'' series is a landmark of [[science fiction]]. Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in his ''Dune'' universe so he could address the politics of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's technology. For example, a key pre-history event to the novel's present is the "Butlerian Jihad", in which all robots and computers were destroyed, eliminating these common elements to science fiction from the novel as to allow focus on humanity.<ref name="new yorker endures"/> ''Dune'' considers the way humans and their institutions might change over time.<ref name="Hanson">{{cite book|title=Building Sci-fi Moviescapes: The Science Behind the Fiction|first=Matt|last=Hanson|publisher=Gulf Professional Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-240-80772-0}}</ref> Director [[John Harrison (director)|John Harrison]], who adapted ''Dune'' for [[Syfy]]'s [[Frank Herbert's Dune|2000 miniseries]], called the novel a universal and timeless reflection of "the human condition and its moral dilemmas", and said:
{{Blockquote|A lot of people refer to ''Dune'' as science fiction. I never do. I consider it an epic adventure in the classic storytelling tradition, a story of myth and legend not unlike the ''[[Morte d'Arthur]]'' or any messiah story. It just happens to be set in the future ... The story is actually more relevant today than when Herbert wrote it. In the 1960s, there were just these two colossal superpowers duking it out. Today we're living in a more feudal, corporatized world more akin to Herbert's universe of separate families, power centers and business interests, all interrelated and kept together by the one commodity necessary to all.<ref name="NYT 2000">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/tv/cover-story-future-myths-adrift-in-the-sands-of-time.html?src=pm |title=Cover Story: Future Myths, Adrift in the Sands of Time |first=Marilyn |last=Stasio |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 3, 2000 |access-date=August 21, 2015 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222224856/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/tv/cover-story-future-myths-adrift-in-the-sands-of-time.html?src=pm |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

But ''Dune'' has also been called a mix of [[Soft science fiction|soft]] and [[hard science fiction]] since "the attention to ecology is hard, the anthropology and the psychic abilities are soft."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gunn|first=James|title=Hard Science Fiction|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|year=1986|editor-last=Slusser|editor-first=George E.|pages=79|chapter=The Readers of Hard Science Fiction|editor-last2=Rabkin|editor-first2=Eric S.}}</ref> Hard elements include the ecology of Arrakis, suspensor technology, weapon systems, and ornithopters, while soft elements include issues relating to religion, physical and mental training, cultures, politics, and psychology.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=L. David|title=Herbert's Dune and Other Works|publisher=Cliffs Notes|year=1975|pages=7–8}}</ref>

Herbert said Paul's messiah figure was inspired by the [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] legend,<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZGJ3pGEuas&t=120s| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829230728/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZGJ3pGEuas&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2020-08-29 | url-status=dead|title=Rare DUNE Interview with Frank Herbert |medium=video|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> and that the [[Water scarcity|scarcity of water]] on Arrakis was a metaphor for [[petroleum|oil]], as well as air and water itself, and for the shortages of resources caused by [[Human overpopulation|overpopulation]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/BEWM7zIIF9c Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20101103001331/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEWM7zIIF9c Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEWM7zIIF9c&t=42s|title=Frank Herbert Interview|medium=video|access-date=April 17, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Novelist [[Brian Herbert]], his son and biographer, wrote:
{{blockquote|''Dune'' is a modern-day conglomeration of familiar myths, a tale in which great sandworms guard a precious treasure of melange, the geriatric spice that represents, among other things, the finite resource of oil. The planet Arrakis features immense, ferocious worms that are like dragons of lore, with "great teeth" and a "bellows breath of cinnamon." This resembles the myth described by an unknown English poet in ''[[Beowulf]]'', the compelling tale of a fearsome fire dragon who guarded a great treasure hoard in a lair under cliffs, at the edge of the sea. The desert of Frank Herbert's classic novel is a vast ocean of sand, with giant worms diving into the depths, the mysterious and unrevealed domain of Shai-hulud. Dune tops are like the crests of waves, and there are powerful sandstorms out there, creating extreme danger. On Arrakis, life is said to emanate from the Maker (Shai-hulud) in the desert-sea; similarly all life on Earth is believed to have evolved from our oceans. Frank Herbert drew parallels, used spectacular metaphors, and extrapolated present conditions into world systems that seem entirely alien at first blush. But close examination reveals they aren't so different from systems we know ... and the book characters of his imagination are not so different from people familiar to us.<ref name="Dune Afterword Setting">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=876 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref>}}

Each chapter of ''Dune'' begins with an [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] excerpted from the fictional writings of the character Princess Irulan. In forms such as diary entries, historical commentary, biography, quotations and philosophy, these writings set tone and provide exposition, context and other details intended to enhance understanding of Herbert's complex fictional universe and themes.<ref name="Cinescape 2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=&obj_id=26343 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316172142/http://www.mania.com/dune-remaking-classic-novel_article_26343.html |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |title=''Dune'': Remaking the Classic Novel |access-date=November 9, 2008 |last=Fritz |first=Steve |date=December 4, 2000 |website=Cinescape.com}}</ref><ref name="Tor 2014">{{cite web |url=http://torforgeblog.com/2014/02/03/quotes-from-the-end-of-the-world/ |title=Quotes from the End of the World |last=Edison |first=David |website=[[Tor.com]] |date=February 3, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708041344/http://torforgeblog.com/2014/02/03/quotes-from-the-end-of-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sayings">{{cite web| url=http://www.dunemessiah.com/irulan.shtml |title=Collected Sayings of Princess Irulan |website=DuneMessiah.com |access-date=November 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618071057/http://www.dunemessiah.com/irulan.shtml |archive-date=June 18, 2008}}</ref> They act as foreshadowing and invite the reader to keep reading to close the gap between what the epigraph says and what is happening in the main narrative.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Manlove|first=C. N.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14933209|title=Science fiction : ten explorations|date=1986|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-36919-7|location=Basingstoke, Hampshire|pages=88–89|oclc=14933209|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173737/https://search.worldcat.org/title/14933209|url-status=live}}</ref> The epigraphs also give the reader the feeling that the world they are reading about is epically distanced, since Irulan writes about an idealized image of Paul as if he had already passed into memory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Touponce|first=William F.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16717899|title=Frank Herbert|date=1988|publisher=Twayne Publishers|isbn=978-0-8057-7514-3|location=Boston|pages=30|oclc=16717899|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506173809/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16717899|url-status=live}}</ref> Brian Herbert wrote: "Dad told me that you could follow any of the novel's layers as you read it, and then start the book all over again, focusing on an entirely different layer. At the end of the book, he intentionally left loose ends and said he did this to send the readers spinning out of the story with bits and pieces of it still clinging to them, so that they would want to go back and read it again."<ref name="Dune Afterword Loose Ends">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |pages=881–882 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref>

===Middle-Eastern and Islamic references===
Due to the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in the [[Arabic language]], as well as the series' "[[Islamic]] [[Subtext|undertones]]" and themes, a [[Middle-Eastern]] influence on Herbert's works has been noted repeatedly.<ref name="7 Beauties">{{Cite book |last=Csicsery-Ronay |first=Istvan Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVYxl5ued-oC&q=The%20seven%20beauties%20of%20science%20fiction%20by%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%2C%20Jr.%2C%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%20%28Jr.%29&pg=PA39 |title=The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction |date=November 28, 2008 |publisher=Wesleyan |isbn=978-0-8195-6889-2 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129181807/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVYxl5ued-oC&q=The%20seven%20beauties%20of%20science%20fiction%20by%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%2C%20Jr.%2C%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%20%28Jr.%29&pg=PA39 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bahayeldin">{{cite web |url=http://baheyeldin.com/literature/arabic-and-islamic-themes-in-frank-herberts-dune.html |title=Arabic and Islamic themes in Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' |last=Bahayeldin |first=Khalid |date=January 22, 2004 |access-date=July 21, 2009 |publisher=Baheyeldin.com |archive-date=May 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512020025/http://baheyeldin.com/literature/arabic-and-islamic-themes-in-frank-herberts-dune.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In his descriptions of the Fremen culture and language, Herbert uses both authentic Arabic words and Arabic-sounding words.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zaki|first=Hoda M.|title=Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists|publisher=South End Press|year=1994|editor-last=Kadi|editor-first=Joanna|chapter=Orientalism in Science Fiction}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Ryding|first=Karin|title=Language in Place: Stylistic Perspectives on Landscape, Place and Environment|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2021|editor-last=Virdis|editor-first=Daniela Francesca|chapter=The Arabic of Dune: Language and Landscape|editor-last2=Zurru|editor-first2=Elisabetta|editor-last3=Lahey|editor-first3=Ernestine}}</ref> For example, one of the names for the sandworm, Shai-hulud, is derived from {{Langx|ar|شيء خلود|lit=immortal thing|translit=šayʾ ḫulūd|label=none}} or {{Langx|ar|شيخ خلود|lit=old man of eternity|translit=šayḫ ḫulūd|label=none}}.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Kennedy|first=Kara|date=April 2, 2016|title=Epic World-Building: Names and Cultures in '''Dune''|url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107560903|journal=Names: A Journal of Onomastics|volume=64|issue=2|pages=99–108|doi=10.1080/00277738.2016.1159450|s2cid=192897269|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=August 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803020323/https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107560903|url-status=live}}</ref> The title of the Fremen housekeeper, the Shadout Mapes, is borrowed from the {{Langx|ar|شادوف|translit=šādūf|label=none}}, the [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian]] term for [[Shadoof|a device used to raise water]].<ref name=":0"/> In particular, words related to the messianic religion of the Fremen, first implanted by the Bene Gesserit, are taken from Arabic, including Muad'Dib (from {{Langx|ar|مؤدب|translit=muʾaddib|lit=educator|label=none}}), Lisan al-Gaib (from {{langx|ar|لسان الغيب|translit=lisān al-ġayb|lit=voice of the unseen|label=none}}), Usul (from {{Langx|ar|أصول|translit=ʾuṣūl|lit=fundamental principles|label=none}}), Shari-a (from {{Langx|ar|شريعة|translit=šarīʿa|lit=[[sharia]]; path|label=none}}), Shaitan (from {{Langx|ar|شيطان|translit=šayṭān|lit=[[Shaitan]]; devil; fiend|label=none}}), and jinn (from {{Langx|ar|جن|translit=ǧinn|lit=[[jinn]]; spirit; demon; mythical being|label=none}}).<ref name="7 Beauties"/> It is likely Herbert relied on second-hand resources such as phrasebooks and desert adventure stories to find these Arabic words and phrases for the Fremen.<ref name=":0"/> They are meaningful and carefully chosen, and help create an "imagined desert culture that resonates with exotic sounds, enigmas, and pseudo-Islamic references" and has a distinctly [[Bedouin]] aesthetic.<ref name=":0"/>

As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people and then leads them in a military capacity, Paul Atreides bears many similarities to the historical [[T. E. Lawrence]].<ref name=":3">{{cite book|url=http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch03.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 3: From Concept to Fable|access-date=December 27, 2019|via=oreilly.com|archive-date=July 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717022308/http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch03.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His 1962 biopic ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' has also been identified as a potential influence.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Lawrence of Arabia'' Is the Unlikely Prequel to ''Star Wars'', ''Dune'', And All Your Favorite Fantasy Epics |url=https://decider.com/2015/12/03/lawrence-of-arabia-star-wars-dune-sci-fi/ |via=[[Decider.com]] |website=[[New York Post]] |access-date=June 14, 2019 |date=December 3, 2015 |archive-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616084717/https://decider.com/2015/12/03/lawrence-of-arabia-star-wars-dune-sci-fi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Sabres of Paradise'' (1960) has also been identified as a potential influence upon ''Dune'', with its depiction of [[Imam Shamil]] and the Islamic culture of the [[Caucasus]] inspiring some of the themes, characters, events and terminology of ''Dune''.<ref name="LAR">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]] |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#! |first=Will |last=Collins |title=The Secret History of ''Dune'' |date=September 16, 2017 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |archive-date=October 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021060026/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#! |url-status=live }}</ref>

The environment of the desert planet Arrakis was primarily inspired by the environments of the [[Middle East]]. Similarly Arrakis as a bioregion is presented as a particular kind of political site. Herbert has made it resemble a desertified [[petrostate]] area.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lynch |first1=Tom |last2=Glotfelty |first2=Cheryll |last3=Armbruster |first3=Karla |title=The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place |date=2012 |publisher=[[University of Georgia Press]] |isbn=978-0-8203-4367-9 |page=230 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=flt4Uea3oOcC&pg=PA230 |access-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308011122/https://books.google.com/books?id=flt4Uea3oOcC&pg=PA230#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The Fremen people of Arrakis were influenced by the Bedouin tribes of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], and the [[Mahdi]] prophecy originates from [[Islamic eschatology]].<ref name="Kunzru">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world|title=''Dune'', 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world|last=Kunzru|first=Hari|date=July 3, 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=February 11, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=February 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211143820/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world|url-status=live}}</ref> Inspiration is also adopted from medieval historian [[Ibn Khaldun]]'s cyclical history and his [[Asabiyyah|dynastic concept]] in [[North Africa]], hinted at by Herbert's reference to Khaldun's book [[Kitab al-ibar|Kitāb al-ʿibar]] ("The Book of Lessons"). The fictionalized version of the "Kitab al-ibar" in ''Dune'' is a combination of a Fremen religious manual and a desert survival book.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hammond|first=Joseph|date=October 18, 2021|title=''Dune'' novels draw on Islamic motifs and have in turn inspired Muslim artists|language=en-US|work=Religion News Service|url=https://religionnews.com/2021/10/18/dune-novels-draw-on-islamic-motifs-and-have-in-turn-inspired-muslim-artists/|access-date=October 31, 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106001309/https://religionnews.com/2021/10/18/dune-novels-draw-on-islamic-motifs-and-have-in-turn-inspired-muslim-artists/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Determann|first=Jörg Matthias|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1_xDwAAQBAJ|title=Islam, science fiction and extraterrestrial life : the culture of astrobiology in the Muslim world|date=2021|isbn=978-0-7556-0130-1|location=London|pages=97|oclc=1197808773|access-date=November 20, 2021|archive-date=March 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308011130/https://books.google.com/books?id=k1_xDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Additional language and historic influences ====
In addition to Arabic, ''Dune'' derives words and names from a variety of other languages, including [[Navajo language|Navajo]], [[Latin]], [[Old Scandinavian]] ("{{lang|non|Landsraad}}"),<ref>{{cite interview|url=http://members.lycos.co.uk/Fenrir/ctdinterviews.htm|title=Vertex Interviews Frank Herbert|interviewer=Paul Turner|date=October 1973|volume=1|issue=4|access-date=November 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519171219/http://members.lycos.co.uk/Fenrir/ctdinterviews.htm|archive-date=May 19, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Romani language|Romani]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ("[[Kefitzat haderech]]", {{langx|he|קפיצת הדרך|translit=contracting of the path|label=none}}), [[Serbo-Croatian]], [[Nahuatl]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Sanskrit]] ("prana bindu", "prajna"), [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], and [[Old English]].<ref name="Dune Afterword Language">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=878 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Tolk de Chakobsa Phrases in ''Dune''|url=https://fr.scribd.com/doc/260601365/Conlangs-Monthly-April-Edition|journal=Conlangs Monthly|page=31|first=Olivier|last=Simon|access-date=March 15, 2024|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053658/https://fr.scribd.com/doc/260601365/Conlangs-Monthly-April-Edition|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Bene Gesserit'' is part of the Latin legal phrase {{lang|la|quamdiu se bene gesserit}} "as long as he shall behave himself well" seen in grants of certain offices (such as judgeships) meaning that the appointee shall remain in office so long as he shall not be guilty of abusing it. Some critics miss the connotation of the phrase, misled by the Latin future perfect {{lang|la|gesserit}}, taking it over-literally (and adding an unwarranted passive) to mean "it will have been well borne", an interpretation which is not well supported by the Bene Gesserit doctrine in the story.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tim O'Reilly - Frank Herbert: Chapter 3: From Concept to Fable - O'Reilly Media |url=https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch03.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528051139/https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch03.html |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |access-date=2021-11-07 |website=oreilly.com |language=en}}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=May 2024}}<!-- The source gives the translation cited in the text. The claim it is a mistranslation and the claimed phrase reference are not in the source and appear to be original research. -->

Through the inspiration from ''The Sabres of Paradise'', there are also allusions to the tsarist-era [[Russian nobility]] and [[Cossacks]].<ref name="LAR2">{{cite magazine|last=Collins|first=Will|date=September 16, 2017|title=The Secret History of ''Dune''|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#!|magazine=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]]|access-date=October 20, 2017|archive-date=October 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021060026/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#!|url-status=live}}</ref> Frank Herbert stated that bureaucracy that lasted long enough would become a hereditary nobility, and a significant theme behind the [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] families in ''Dune'' was "aristocratic bureaucracy" which he saw as analogous to the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tim O'Reilly - Frank Herbert: Chapter 5: Rogue Gods - O'Reilly Media |url=https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107074914/https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |access-date=2021-11-07 |website=oreilly.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/5IfgBX1EW00 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170210174612/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfgBX1EW00&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|last=Herbert|first=Frank|date=1985-04-17|title=Frank Herbert speaking at UCLA 4/17/1985|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfgBX1EW00|website=YouTube|publisher=University of California, Los Angeles Comm Studies}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Environmentalism and ecology===
''Dune'' has been called the "first planetary [[ecology]] novel on a grand scale".<ref name="James">{{cite book |last=James |first=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jame_241 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction |last2=Mendlesohn |first2=Farah |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-01657-5 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jame_241/page/n212 183]–184 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Herbert hoped it would be seen as an "[[Environmentalism|environmental awareness]] handbook" and said the title was meant to "echo the sound of 'doom'".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15636296|title=The maker of Dune : insights of a master of science fiction|date=1987|publisher=Berkley Books|others=Tim O'Reilly|isbn=978-0-425-09785-4|edition=|location=New York|pages=249|oclc=15636296|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506105345/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15636296|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reviewed in the best-selling countercultural [[Whole Earth Catalog]] in 1968 as a "rich re-readable fantasy with clear portrayal of the fierce environment it takes to cohere a community".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brand|first=Stewart|title=Whole Earth Catalog|year=1968|pages=41}}</ref>

After the publication of ''[[Silent Spring]]'' by [[Rachel Carson]] in 1962, science fiction writers began treating the subject of ecological change and its consequences. ''Dune'' responded in 1965 with its complex descriptions of Arrakis life, from giant sandworms (for whom water is deadly) to smaller, mouse-like life-forms adapted to live with limited water. ''Dune'' was followed in its creation of complex and unique ecologies by other science fiction books such as ''[[A Door into Ocean]]'' (1986) and ''[[Red Mars]]'' (1992).<ref name="James"/> Environmentalists have pointed out that ''Dune''{{'s}} popularity as a novel depicting a planet as a complex—almost living—thing, in combination with the [[first images of Earth from space]] being published in the same time period, strongly influenced environmental movements such as the establishment of the international [[Earth Day]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Facilitating Watershed Management: Fostering Awareness and Stewardship |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-3364-6 |editor-last=France |editor-first=Robert L. |location=Lanham |page=105}}</ref>

While the genre of [[climate fiction]] was popularized in the 2010s in response to real global [[climate change]], ''Dune'' as well as other early science fiction works from authors like [[J. G. Ballard]] (''[[The Drowned World]]'') and [[Kim Stanley Robinson]] (the [[Mars trilogy|''Mars'' trilogy]]) have retroactively been considered pioneering examples of the genre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Dune'', climate fiction pioneer: The ecological lessons of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece were ahead of its time|first=Michael|last=Berry|date=August 13, 2015|url=https://www.salon.com/2015/08/13/dune_climate_fiction_pioneer_the_ecological_lessons_of_frank_herberts_sci_fi_masterpiece_were_ahead_of_its_time/|access-date=October 29, 2021|website=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|language=en|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029044523/https://www.salon.com/2015/08/13/dune_climate_fiction_pioneer_the_ecological_lessons_of_frank_herberts_sci_fi_masterpiece_were_ahead_of_its_time/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Frelik |first=Paweł |date=2017 |title='On Not Calling a Spade a Spade': Climate Fiction as Science Fiction |journal=[[American Studies (journal)|American Studies]] |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=125–129}}</ref>

===Declining empires===
The Imperium in ''Dune'' contains features of various empires in Europe and the [[Near East]], including the [[Roman Empire]], [[Holy Roman Empire]], and [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name=":1"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ower|first=John|date=1974|title=Idea and Imagery in Herbert's ''Dune''|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/extr.1974.15.2.129|journal=Extrapolation|volume=15|issue=2|pages=129–139|doi=10.3828/extr.1974.15.2.129|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173738/https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/extr.1974.15.2.129|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rogers|first=Brett M.|title=Brill's Companion to the Reception of Aeschylus|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]|year=2018|editor-last=Kennedy|editor-first=Rebecca Futo|chapter='Now Harkonnen Shall Kill Harkonnen': Aeschylus, Dynastic Violence, and Twofold Tragedies in Frank Herbert's ''Dune''}}</ref> Lorenzo DiTommaso compared ''Dune''{{'s}} portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to [[Edward Gibbon]]'s ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]],'' which argues that [[Christianity]] allied with the profligacy of the Roman elite led to the fall of [[Ancient Rome]]. In "The Articulation of Imperial Decadence and Decline in Epic Science Fiction" (2007), DiTommaso outlines similarities between the two works by highlighting the excesses of the Emperor on his home planet of Kaitain and of the Baron Harkonnen in his palace. The Emperor loses his effectiveness as a ruler through an excess of ceremony and pomp. The hairdressers and attendants he brings with him to Arrakis are even referred to as "parasites". The Baron Harkonnen is similarly corrupt and materially indulgent. Gibbon's ''Decline and Fall'' partly blames the fall of Rome on the rise of Christianity. Gibbon claimed that this exotic import from a conquered province weakened the soldiers of Rome and left it open to attack. The Emperor's Sardaukar fighters are little match for the Fremen of Dune not only because of the Sardaukar's overconfidence and the fact that Jessica and Paul have trained the Fremen in their battle tactics, but because of the Fremen's capacity for self-sacrifice. The Fremen put the community before themselves in every instance, while the world outside wallows in luxury at the expense of others.<ref name="DiTommaso">{{Cite journal|last=DiTommaso|first=Lorenzo|date=2007|title=The Articulation of Imperial Decadence and Decline in Epic Science Fiction|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/extr.2007.48.2.5|journal=Extrapolation|volume=48|issue=2|pages=267–291|doi=10.3828/extr.2007.48.2.5|issn=|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173741/https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/extr.2007.48.2.5|url-status=live}}</ref>

The decline and long peace of the Empire sets the stage for revolution and renewal by [[Genetic admixture|genetic mixing]] of successful and unsuccessful groups through war, a process culminating in the Jihad led by Paul Atreides, described by Frank Herbert as depicting "war as a collective orgasm" (drawing on Norman Walter's 1950 ''The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare''),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.gwern.net/docs/sociology/1950-walter-thesexualcycleofhumanwarfare.djvu|title=The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare|date=1950|first=Norman|last=Walter|via=gwern.net|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412132316/https://www.gwern.net/docs/sociology/1950-walter-thesexualcycleofhumanwarfare.djvu|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.jacurutu.com/viewtopic.php?t=1214#p38497|title=Listening To The Left Hand|first=Frank|last=Herbert|magazine=[[Harper's]]|date=December 1973|via=jacurutu.com|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=June 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616122440/http://www.jacurutu.com/viewtopic.php?t=1214#p38497|url-status=live}}</ref> themes that would reappear in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]''{{'s}} [[The Scattering (Dune)|Scattering]] and Leto II's all-female [[Fish Speaker]] army.

===Gender dynamics===
[[Gender role|Gender dynamics]] are complex in ''Dune''. Herbert offers a multi-layered portrayal of gender roles within the context of a feudal, hierarchical society, particularly through the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Although the Bene Gesserit tend to hold roles that are traditionally associated with women, such as wives, concubines, and mothers, their characters transcend stereotypes as they play politics and pursue long-term strategic goals. Full gender equality is not depicted in ''Dune'', but the Bene Gesserit use specialized training and access to high-ranking men to gain agency and power within the constraints of their environment. Their training in prana-bindu allows them to exert control over their minds and bodies, including over pregnancy, and they are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and use of the Voice to command others. Jessica's disobedience in bearing a son instead of daughter and training him in the Bene Gesserit Way is a major plot point that sets in motion the events of the novel.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kara |title=Women's Agency in the Dune Universe: Tracing Women's Liberation through Science Fiction |date=2021 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-030-89204-3 |edition= |location=Switzerland |pages=124, 131}}</ref><ref name=":6"/> By setting up certain women with leaders of certain Houses in the Imperium, the Bene Gesserit can control bloodlines across generations through their secret breeding program.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Semler |first=Stephanie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/663953010 |title=Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of the Mentat |date=2011 |publisher=Open Court |isbn=978-0-8126-9715-5 |editor-last=Nicholas |editor-first=Jeffery |series=Popular Culture and Philosophy |location=Chicago |pages=17 |oclc=663953010 |access-date=May 4, 2024 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173745/https://search.worldcat.org/title/663953010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Even within the male-dominated Imperium, then, the Bene Gesserit wield reproductive power and choose which genetic markers to continue into the future.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McReynolds |first=Leigha High |title=Discovering Dune: Essays on Frank Herbert's Epic Saga |date=2022 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-8201-3 |editor-last=Nardi |editor-first=Dominic J. |series= |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |pages=145–155 |chapter=Locations of Deviance: A Eugenics Reading of Dune |editor-last2=Brierly |editor-first2=N. Trevor}}</ref>

Reverend Mother Mohiam uses skills in Truthsaying to act as the Emperor's official Truthsayer and advisor. Her role can be considered similar to that of [[abbess]]es in the medieval Church. Before Princess Irulan appears as a character who agrees to a political marriage with Paul, she acts as a historian who shapes the reader's interpretation of the story and Paul's legacy due to the excerpts from her writing that frame each chapter.<ref name=":5"/><ref name=":6"/>

Among the Fremen, women have roles as mothers and wives and also exercise agency through combat and religious authority. Fremen women and children have a reputation for being just as violent and dangerous as Fremen men. Chani travels with Stilgar in his military party, armed like the others. After becoming Paul's concubine, she kills one of the men who comes to challenge him. Alia leads an attack against the Emperor's Sardaukar and kills Baron Harkonnen with a gom jabbar. Women also take on the role of religious leaders. Chani is a Sayyadina who presides over tribal rituals such as Paul's worm-riding test, and Reverend Mother Ramallo carries the tribe's memories and passes them along to Jessica through the [[Water of Life (Dune)|Water of Life]] ceremony. Within the male-led sietches, Fremen women find different avenues of authority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kara |title=Frank Herbert's Dune: A Critical Companion |date=2022 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-031-13934-5 |series=Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon |location=Switzerland |pages=80–84}}</ref>

The gom jabbar test of humanity is administered by the female Bene Gesserit order but rarely to males.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schwartz|first=Susan|date=2014|title=A Teaching Review of Dune: Religion is the Spice of Life|journal=Implicit Religion|volume=17|issue=4|pages=533–538|doi=10.1558/imre.v17i4.533}}</ref> The Bene Gesserit have seemingly mastered the unconscious and can play on the unconscious weaknesses of others using the Voice, yet their breeding program seeks after a male Kwisatz Haderach.<ref name=":3"/> Their plan is to produce a male who can "possess complete racial memory, both male and female," and look into the black hole in the collective unconscious that they fear.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=David M.|title=Frank Herbert|publisher=Starmont House|year=1980}}</ref> A central theme of the book is the connection, in Jessica's son, of this female aspect with his male aspect. This aligns with concepts in [[Carl Jung|Jungian]] psychology, which features conscious/unconscious and taking/giving roles associated with males and females, as well as the idea of the collective unconscious.<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Reilly|first=Timothy|title=Frank Herbert|publisher=Frederick Ungar Publishing|year=1981|isbn=978-0-8044-2666-4}}</ref> Paul's approach to power consistently requires his upbringing under the matriarchal Bene Gesserit, who operate as a long-dominating [[Shadow government (conspiracy)|shadow government]] behind all of the great houses and their marriages or divisions.<ref name=":4"/> He is trained by Jessica in the Bene Gesserit Way, which includes prana-bindu training in nerve and muscle control and precise perception.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Kennedy|first=Kara|date=September 8, 2021|title=Frank Herbert, the Bene Gesserit, and the Complexity of Women in the World of Dune|url=https://www.tor.com/2021/09/08/frank-herbert-the-bene-gesserit-and-the-complexity-of-women-in-the-world-of-dune/|access-date=|website=Tor.com|language=en-US|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021085928/https://www.tor.com/2021/09/08/frank-herbert-the-bene-gesserit-and-the-complexity-of-women-in-the-world-of-dune/|url-status=live}}</ref> Paul also receives Mentat training, thus helping prepare him to be a type of androgynous Kwisatz Haderach, a male Reverend Mother.<ref name=":4"/>

In a Bene Gesserit test early in the book, it is implied that people are generally "inhuman" in that they irrationally place desire over self-interest and reason.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} This applies Herbert's philosophy that humans are not created equal, while equal justice and equal opportunity are higher ideals than mental, physical, or moral equality.<ref name="Genesis">{{cite web|last=Herbert|first=Frank|url=http://www.frankherbert.org/news/genesis.html |title=''Dune'' Genesis|access-date=February 14, 2014 |publisher=FrankHerbert.org|work=[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]|date=July 1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107220342/http://www.frankherbert.org/news/genesis.html |archive-date=January 7, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Heroism===
{{blockquote|I am showing you the superhero syndrome and your own participation in it.|Frank Herbert<ref>Herbert liner notes quoted in Touponce p. 24</ref>}}

Throughout Paul's rise to superhuman status, he follows a plotline common to many [[monomyth|stories describing the birth of a hero]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Palumbo|first=Donald|date=1998|title=The Monomyth as Fractal Pattern in Frank Herbert's Dune Novels|journal=[[Science Fiction Studies]]|volume=25|pages=433–458}}</ref> He has unfortunate circumstances forced onto him. After a long period of hardship and exile, he confronts and defeats the source of evil in his tale.<ref>Tilley, E. Allen. "The Modes of Fiction: A Plot Morphology." ''College English.'' (Feb 1978) 39.6 pp. 692–706.</ref><ref>Hume, Kathryn. "Romance: A Perdurable Pattern." ''College English''. (Oct 1974) 36.2 pp. 129–146.</ref> As such, ''Dune'' is representative of a general trend beginning in 1960s American science fiction in that it features a character who attains godlike status through scientific means.<ref>Attebery, Brian. Decoding Gender in Science Fiction. New York: Routledge, 2002. p. 66 {{ISBN|978-0-415-93949-2}}</ref> Eventually, Paul Atreides gains a level of omniscience which allows him to take over the planet and the galaxy, and causes the Fremen of Arrakis to worship him like a god. Author Frank Herbert said in 1979, "The bottom line of the ''Dune'' trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better to rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes."<ref name="Clareson">{{Cite book|last=Clareson |first=Thomas |title=Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: the Formative Period |location=Columbia |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |year=1992 |pages=169–172 |isbn=978-0-87249-870-9}}</ref> He wrote in 1985, "''Dune'' was aimed at this whole idea of the infallible leader because my view of history says that mistakes made by a leader (or made in a leader's name) are amplified by the numbers who follow without question."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[Eye (short story collection)|Eye]] |chapter=Introduction |year=1985 |publisher=Berkley Books |isbn=978-0-425-08398-7}}</ref>

Juan A. Prieto-Pablos says Herbert achieves a new typology with Paul's superpowers, differentiating the heroes of ''Dune'' from earlier heroes such as [[Superman]], [[A. E. van Vogt|van Vogt]]'s [[Gilbert Gosseyn]] and [[Henry Kuttner]]'s telepaths. Unlike previous superheroes who acquire their powers suddenly and accidentally, Paul's are the result of "painful and slow personal progress." And unlike other superheroes of the 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques." For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen, Ginaz swordsmen and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Spacing Guild Navigators).<ref name="prieto">{{Cite journal| last = Prieto-Pablos | first = Juan A. | title = The Ambivalent Hero of Contemporary Fantasy and Science Fiction | journal = [[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]] | volume = 32 | issue = 1 | pages = 64–80 | publisher = The University of Texas at Brownsville | date =Spring 1991 | doi = 10.3828/extr.1991.32.1.64}}</ref>

===Zen and religion===
{{Main|List of Dune religions}}

Early in his newspaper career, Herbert was introduced to [[Zen]] by two [[Jungian]] psychologists, Ralph and Irene Slattery, who "gave a crucial boost to his thinking".<ref name="O'Reilly C2">{{cite book|url=http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch02.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 2: Under Pressure|access-date=March 26, 2019|via=oreilly.com|archive-date=December 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230080811/http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch02.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Zen teachings ultimately had "a profound and continuing influence on [Herbert's] work".<ref name="O'Reilly C2"/> Throughout the ''Dune'' series and particularly in ''Dune'', Herbert employs concepts and forms borrowed from [[Zen Buddhism]].<ref name="O'Reilly C2"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Unpublished interview with Frank Herbert and Professor Willis E. McNelly |date=February 3, 1969 |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |via=sinanvural.com |access-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-date=February 13, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213105526/http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Fremen are referred to as [[Zensunni]] adherents, and many of Herbert's epigraphs are Zen-spirited.<ref>{{cite book|last=Touponce|year=1988|title=Frank Herbert|chapter=Life and Intellectual Background|page=10|publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=978-0-8057-7514-3}}</ref> In "''Dune'' Genesis", Frank Herbert wrote:

{{blockquote|What especially pleases me is to see the interwoven themes, the fugue like relationships of images that exactly replay the way ''Dune'' took shape. As in an [[M. C. Escher|Escher]] lithograph, I involved myself with recurrent themes that turn into paradox. The central paradox concerns the human vision of time. What about Paul's gift of prescience—the [[Presbyterian]] fixation? For the [[Pythia|Delphic Oracle]] to perform, it must tangle itself in a web of [[predestination]]. Yet predestination negates surprises and, in fact, sets up a mathematically enclosed universe whose limits are always inconsistent, always encountering the unprovable. It's like a [[koan]], a Zen mind breaker. It's like the [[Crete|Cretan]] [[Epimenides]] saying, "All Cretans are liars."<ref name="Genesis"/>}}

Brian Herbert called the ''Dune'' universe "a spiritual melting pot", noting that his father incorporated elements of a variety of religions, including [[Buddhism]], [[Sufism|Sufi mysticism]] and other Islamic belief systems, [[Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]], [[Judaism]], and [[Hinduism]].<ref name="Dune Afterword Religion">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=873 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref> He added that Frank Herbert's fictional future in which "religious beliefs have combined into interesting forms" represents the author's solution to eliminating arguments between religions, each of which claimed to have "the one and only revelation."<ref name="Dune Afterword Religion"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Herbert |first=Frank |date=February 3, 1969 |title=Interview with Dr. Willis E. McNelly |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213105526/http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2002 |access-date=January 26, 2010 |publisher=Sinanvural.com |quote=During my studies of deserts, of course, and previous studies of religions, we all know that many religions began in a desert atmosphere, so I decided to put the two together because I don't think that any one story should have any one thread. I build on a layer technique, and of course putting in religion and religious ideas you can play one against the other.}}</ref>

===Asimov's ''Foundation''===
Tim O'Reilly suggests that Herbert also wrote ''Dune'' as a counterpoint to [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [[Foundation (book series)|''Foundation'' series]]. In his [[monograph]] on Frank Herbert, O'Reilly wrote that "''Dune'' is clearly a commentary on the ''Foundation'' trilogy. Herbert has taken a look at the same imaginative situation that provoked Asimov's classic—the decay of a galactic empire—and restated it in a way that draws on different assumptions and suggests radically different conclusions. The twist he has introduced into ''Dune'' is that [[List of Foundation series characters#The Mule|the Mule]], not the Foundation, is his hero."<ref name=":2">{{cite book|url=https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 5: Rogue Gods|access-date=May 15, 2020|via=oreilly.com|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107074914/https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to O'Reilly, Herbert bases the Bene Gesserit on the scientific shamans of the Foundation, though they use biological rather than statistical science.<ref name=":2"/> In contrast to the ''Foundation'' series and its praise of science and rationality, ''Dune'' proposes that the unconscious and unexpected are actually what are needed for humanity.<ref name=":2"/>

Both Herbert and Asimov explore the implications of prescience (i.e., visions of the future) both psychologically and socially. The ''Foundation'' series deploys a broadly determinist approach to prescient vision rooted in mathematical reasoning on a macroscopic social level. ''Dune'', by contrast, invents a biologically rooted power of prescience that becomes determinist when the user actively relies on it to navigate past an undefined threshold of detail. Herbert's eugenically produced and spice-enhanced prescience is also personalized to individual actors whose roles in later books constrain each other's visions, rendering the future more or less mutable as time progresses. In what might be a comment on ''Foundation'', Herbert's most powerfully prescient being in ''God Emperor of Dune'' laments the boredom engendered by prescience, and values surprises, especially regarding one's death, as a psychological necessity.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

However, both works contain a similar theme of the restoration of civilization<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grigsby|first=John L.|date=1981|title=Asimov's "Foundation" Trilogy and Herbert's "Dune" Trilogy: A Vision Reversed (La Trilogie de "Fondation" chez Asimov et la trilogie de "Dune" chez Herbert: une vision inversée)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239405|journal=Science Fiction Studies|volume=8|issue=2|pages=149–155|jstor=4239405|issn=0091-7729|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=October 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030040131/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239405|url-status=live}}</ref> and seem to make the fundamental assumption that "political maneuvering, the need to control material resources, and friendship or mating bonds will be fundamentally the same in the future as they are now."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Riggs|first=Don|title=Spectrum of the Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Sixth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1988|isbn=978-0-313-25502-1|editor-last=Palumbo|editor-first=Donald|chapter=Future and “Progress” in Foundation and Dune}}</ref>