Jessica and the Duke: Pages 44- 97

One thing I am enjoying about this book is how naturally important details seem to come up. The narrative truly unfolds within the story, not before it or outside of it. No moments of “Oh my GOD it’s Angela’s identical twin sister! We haven’t seen you since you left for Egypt on an archeological expedition to find King Tut’s remains 10 years ago!” No no… Herbert can do much better than that. At first I thought: the questions that spring up in my mind on page X are addressed by ~ page X+30. But I realized that the answers are coming in pieces, and Herbert doesn’t let any crucial question hang for too long in the air before coming back to it and delivering a detail that gives us insight. The details comes naturally, organically, as if it is- no, it IS a part of the story!

One such detail that Herbert has been gradually explaining is the relationship between Jessica and Duke Leto. At first, I assumed that because Jessica was Paul’s mother and lived with Duke Leto, she was the Duke’s wife. Then she was referred to as the Duke’s concubine, which I was totally perplexed by. Later Duke Leto told Jessica to be thankful that he never married her. After that, Dr. Yueh asked Jessica why she hadn’t made the Duke marry her, and, from her response, we understand the reason: while he remains unmarried, other houses still have hope for alliance.

Since she has born the Duke a son, and the Duke has kept her by his side, she’s more than a sex toy. My understanding of a “concubine” is a long term sex toy, but Jessica seems to be even more than that. I think both Dr. Yueh and Jessica have thought about the fact that she can make the Duke to anything. Now knowing that the Duke devoted to Jessica, and has refrained to marrying her simply for political reasons, I am wondering about what “concubine” means to these people…

Also, with this prediction of the Duke’s death floating around, what happens to Jessica when/if he dies? Does a wife receive more “legal” privileges than a concubine/mother of the heir? And: while the Duke remains alive and single, the other houses have hope. If he dies, how does that affect the standing of his house?

Another side the relationship between Jessica and the Duke pivots on the Duke’s father. What’s the deal here? Why does Jessica hate the Duke’s father? How did he die? Is there something important about the timing of his death, the fact that he died after the Duke was born?