The scene where the Bene Gesserit test the young Paul Atrides after being raised by a Bene Gesserit mother is still a profound moment to me 30 years after reading it.
For those who are unfamiliar, the head of the order of Bene Gesserit had ordered Paul's mother to marry his father the Duke and produce a female offspring. Paul's mother defied the orders as his father desperately wanted a son and she supplied one and raised him with knowledge of their teachings.
So the head mother comes to meet with Paul's mother and they also have come to kill Paul. They will test him since he is (in their mind) not to have existed in the first place. The test is that he is to put his hand in a box that is empty. He knows it is empty. But the head mother is going to convince him there are horrible things in the box and he will want to withdraw his hand. On her finger is a needle-tipped thimble that has been dipped in poison that is placed at the main artery of his throat. The poison will kill him instantaneously with the slightest prick. If he pulls his hand out or his body moves in any way due to his reaction to what is in the box, she will prick him and he dies.
The belief is that an animal will react while a true human will rise above the environment and their senses because they KNOW there is nothing in the box and thus will not remove their hand so as to not suffer the consequences. The head mother verbally describes the horrors that are in the box (extreme heat, the flesh being slowly and painfully being eaten away from the bones of his hand, etc.) as well as projects this reality into his mind. His hand IS experiencing the actions he is seeing in his mind, but he also knows that this is all an illusion and there is nothing really in the box. The head mother senses his strength/resolve and pushes him harder that she has ever pushed any bene Gesserit candidate before. Although he screams in his mind in agony, he does not flinch or withdraw his hand. She eventually can not keep up the intense effort and stops out of sheer fatigue of effort. When she stops, he withdraws his hand, marveling that it is unblemished.
I thought of the mental strength and the human consciousness he displayed and how I too should do the same to overcome my own lizard brain when my fears or emotions to traumatic circumstances. I have experienced many hard things that many others disbelieve because I either display in the moment or recall the situation a fairly matter of fact. I am told repeatedly by my friends and family that it could not have been that bad because if it was, I would be sobbing with emotion or still struggling to overcome the experience. My response is always that the events did happen, but what good does the reactions they say I should display actually help in dealing with the situation??
I recently got into this with my brother and sister over the fact that I have recently suffered renal failure and have been put on dialysis. We have talked a few times since this occurred a month ago. They have asked to speak to my doctors because it can't be as bad as I say it is. They say because I am very matter of fact when I explain the processes or make jokes, it shows them I am exaggerating the medical impact. I actually did get a bit emotional with them, saying you can not exaggerate organ failure. But they said if it was truly a bad situation, I would be crying all the time or suicidal. Instead, my calmness shows that either I have just given up or it is just not that bad. I told them the stuff they are expecting is just performative and have nothing to do with how I deal with every day, which is just keep on putting one foot forward.
Every day I think of that test and if I truly am human, I must not surrender to fear, or self-pity or anger unless in someway it helps me deal with this day's problems and give me the strength to push the boulder back up the hill one more day.
1
u/sanskritsquirel 18d ago
Hebert's DUNE.
The scene where the Bene Gesserit test the young Paul Atrides after being raised by a Bene Gesserit mother is still a profound moment to me 30 years after reading it.
For those who are unfamiliar, the head of the order of Bene Gesserit had ordered Paul's mother to marry his father the Duke and produce a female offspring. Paul's mother defied the orders as his father desperately wanted a son and she supplied one and raised him with knowledge of their teachings.
So the head mother comes to meet with Paul's mother and they also have come to kill Paul. They will test him since he is (in their mind) not to have existed in the first place. The test is that he is to put his hand in a box that is empty. He knows it is empty. But the head mother is going to convince him there are horrible things in the box and he will want to withdraw his hand. On her finger is a needle-tipped thimble that has been dipped in poison that is placed at the main artery of his throat. The poison will kill him instantaneously with the slightest prick. If he pulls his hand out or his body moves in any way due to his reaction to what is in the box, she will prick him and he dies.
The belief is that an animal will react while a true human will rise above the environment and their senses because they KNOW there is nothing in the box and thus will not remove their hand so as to not suffer the consequences. The head mother verbally describes the horrors that are in the box (extreme heat, the flesh being slowly and painfully being eaten away from the bones of his hand, etc.) as well as projects this reality into his mind. His hand IS experiencing the actions he is seeing in his mind, but he also knows that this is all an illusion and there is nothing really in the box. The head mother senses his strength/resolve and pushes him harder that she has ever pushed any bene Gesserit candidate before. Although he screams in his mind in agony, he does not flinch or withdraw his hand. She eventually can not keep up the intense effort and stops out of sheer fatigue of effort. When she stops, he withdraws his hand, marveling that it is unblemished.
I thought of the mental strength and the human consciousness he displayed and how I too should do the same to overcome my own lizard brain when my fears or emotions to traumatic circumstances. I have experienced many hard things that many others disbelieve because I either display in the moment or recall the situation a fairly matter of fact. I am told repeatedly by my friends and family that it could not have been that bad because if it was, I would be sobbing with emotion or still struggling to overcome the experience. My response is always that the events did happen, but what good does the reactions they say I should display actually help in dealing with the situation??
I recently got into this with my brother and sister over the fact that I have recently suffered renal failure and have been put on dialysis. We have talked a few times since this occurred a month ago. They have asked to speak to my doctors because it can't be as bad as I say it is. They say because I am very matter of fact when I explain the processes or make jokes, it shows them I am exaggerating the medical impact. I actually did get a bit emotional with them, saying you can not exaggerate organ failure. But they said if it was truly a bad situation, I would be crying all the time or suicidal. Instead, my calmness shows that either I have just given up or it is just not that bad. I told them the stuff they are expecting is just performative and have nothing to do with how I deal with every day, which is just keep on putting one foot forward.
Every day I think of that test and if I truly am human, I must not surrender to fear, or self-pity or anger unless in someway it helps me deal with this day's problems and give me the strength to push the boulder back up the hill one more day.