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--- lb:dune:jessica [2026-02-01 12:54:36] – ninjasr
+++ lb:dune:jessica [2026-02-11 19:53:50] (current) – [Lady Jessica Atreides] ninjasr
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 ====== Lady Jessica Atreides ======
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 <div header>Jessica Atreides</div>
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 **Lady Jessica Atreides** is the wife of **Duke Leto Atreides** and the mother of **Paul Atreides** – probably the biggest deal in the [[lb:dune|Duniverse]]. She is a [[lb:dune#Bene Gesserit]] and a big deal herself.
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 ===== Description =====
-Jessica is also my favorite character from Dune, though I can’t be sure until I actually bother to read Dune.\\
+Jessica is also my favorite character from Dune, though I can’t be sure until I actually bother to read Dune.
-There are a few reasons as to why. First, she scratches particular biases I have towards characters: she's female and she's depicted as loyal to the person she loves. Already, those are two great traits to have. On top of that, she's a Bene Gesserit, who I think are just cool in general...but the most important thing that sets her apart from the rest of the cast is that she actually makes a //human// decision.\\
-That decision being her choice to produce Paul, instead of following her orders. This is a big deal, because my understanding of the Dune story suggests that everyone is a pawn in plans that have been working in the background for centuries. But then she screwed everything up by having a son instead of a daughter. And her reason for screwing it up? Was it to put forward her own plan, like a [[lb:eva:Yui|certain other mother from a sci-fi franchise]]? No, it was just because she wanted to make the man she loves happy. As far as I'm aware, no other character in Dune ever makes a decision like that.((:fn:>Well, I believe there are two other possible exceptions. Paul and Irulan. Paul makes a human decision by basically giving up and walking into the desert (though this is, as far as I can tell, treated as a failure by the narrative). Irulan makes a human decision by choosing to put aside her pride to help raise Paul's children. Though I am not sure about the latter.)) I am //probably// wrong, but I get the impression the narrative generally frowns upon these kinds of things and mostly treats characters poorly for making decisions that aren't in accordance with grand philosophical designs. Rather, it feels like Jessica producing Paul wasn't seen as an unexpected positive...but rather the result of a personality flaw.((:fn:>Reading the [[https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Jessica_Atreides|wiki entry]] kinda confirms this, since the Bene Gesserit view her act as a negative. Though I can’t yet be sure.))
+There are a few reasons as to why. First, she scratches particular biases I have towards characters: she's female and she's depicted as loyal to the person she loves. Already, those are two great traits to have. On top of that, she's a Bene Gesserit, who I think are just cool in general...but the most important thing that sets her apart from the rest of the cast is that she actually makes a //human// decision.
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+That decision being her choice to produce Paul, instead of following her orders. This is a big deal, because my understanding of the Dune story suggests that everyone is a pawn in plans that have been working in the background for centuries.
+But then she screwed everything up by having a son instead of a daughter.
+And her reason for screwing it up? Was it to put forward her own plan, like a [[lb:eva:Yui|certain other mother from a sci-fi franchise]]?
+**No**, it was just because she wanted to make the man she loves //happy//.
+As far as I'm aware, no other character in Dune ever makes a decision like that.((:fn:>Well, I believe there are two other possible exceptions. Paul and Irulan. Paul makes a human decision by basically giving up and walking into the desert (though this is, as far as I can tell, treated as a failure by the narrative). Irulan makes a human decision by choosing to put aside her pride to help raise Paul's children. Though I am not sure about the latter.)) I am //probably// wrong, but I get the impression the narrative generally frowns upon these kinds of things and mostly treats characters poorly for making decisions that aren't in accordance with grand philosophical designs. Rather, it feels like Jessica producing Paul wasn't seen as an unexpected positive...but rather the result of a personality flaw.((:fn:>Reading the [[https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Jessica_Atreides|wiki entry]] kinda confirms this, since the Bene Gesserit view her act as a negative. Though I can’t yet be sure.))
+</div>
 And I find that kinda annoying. I may elaborate further on this in the future.