Chapterhouse: Dune

Eyes are a recurring motif in Chapterhouse: Dune as an indicator of identity, knowledge, and inner change. The Bene Gesserit have the distinctive blue eyes of a Spice addict. The Fremen called this The Eyes of Ibad. Spice consumption eventually changes the scilla (whites) and irises of human eyes blue. Rebecca, the Jewish “Wild” Reverend Mother, hides from the Honored Matres by wearing contact lenses that cover up her eyes. The color relates to their identity in several ways. It distinguishes them from others, showing their connection to their Sisterhood, but it also makes them appear less human. The color blue is commonly associated with coldness, a trait the Bene Gesserit metaphorically possess: They are cool, detached, and practice emotionlessness.

Meanwhile, the Honored Matres use a type of artificial adrenaline drug that gives them their incredibly fast reflexes. One side effect of this is that their pupils have small orange specks in them. These specks swell and grow when the Honored Matres are angered. Bene Gesserit often pay close attention to this during their exchanges with the Matres, carefully prodding and provoking their anger for maximum effect. Orange is the direct opposite of blue in color theory and is related to warmth or fire, much like the hot tempers of the Honored Matres. This then reinforces the presentation of them and the Bene Gesserit as opposites whose core traits are constantly in conflict.

Eyes operate throughout the novel as a motif of vision, perception, and transformation. Eyes reveal not only physical traits but also inner allegiance and the cost of acquiring power. Characters marked by Spice or adrenaline show their dependence on unnatural substances for strength, while the subtle tracking of eye color or pupil dilation becomes a form of reading hidden emotions or weaknesses. The motif suggests that even in a universe governed by prescience and secrecy, the eyes remain a site of vulnerability—exposing truths characters might wish to hide.

Furthermore, eyes become symbolic of how the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres view control: The Bene Gesserit cultivate cold precision and long-term vision, while the Honored Matres burn brightly but recklessly, often overcome by rage. The recurring focus on eyes throughout the novel underscores the constant surveillance, suspicion, and misdirection required for survival in a world where seeing—or being seen—can be as dangerous as any weapon.

Ritual in Chapterhouse: Dune functions as both a source of power and a potential weakness. The Bene Gesserit rely on ritualized practices—emotional control, memorized prayers, secret rites—to maintain their cohesion and authority across generations. Their ceremonies mark transformation and continuity, anchoring individuals within a collective past. However, these rituals also signal the Sisterhood’s vulnerability to stagnation. Odrade herself reflects on how enclosing the orchard or clinging to tradition could lead to rot: “How tempting it is to raise high walls and keep out change. Rot here in our own self-satisfied comfort” (27).

In contrast, the Honored Matres embody instinct over ritual. Their techniques of domination—particularly sexual imprinting—bypass ceremony entirely, relying instead on raw physicality and emotional manipulation. They represent the dangerous power of unrestrained instinct, but also its volatility and lack of sustainability. Where the Bene Gesserit cultivate power slowly, the Honored Matres seize it violently.

This opposition creates one of the novel’s central tensions of whether the Sisterhood can survive without evolving beyond their rituals without abandoning their identity. The future of the order may depend not on choosing one over the other, but on synthesizing ritual and instinct into something new.

Sex is wielded as a weapon of control and trauma in the novel. The Honored Matres use sex to imprint males: They use techniques to heighten sexual ecstasy to such a high level that men become helplessly addicted and pliant. Murbella attempted to use this ability on Duncan in the previous installment in the series, Heretics of Dune, but was unaware that the Tleilaxu had programmed him with similar abilities. The result was that they created a mutual bond, or addiction, to each other. At first, this bond is more like a form of bondage, and they both resent it. Over time, however, they fall in love, and this codependence becomes something more romantic but still restrictive.

Duncan trains men in his sexual bonding techniques in order to send them out into the Honored Matres forces as saboteurs. Sheeana helps train these agents to be resistant to the Matres’s bonding techniques by replicating them. Later, the ghola Miles Teg’s original memories are also awoken by Sheeana’s use of these techniques, with the extreme sensation causing him to recall a deep-set memory that trained him to reflexively resist imprinting. 

Sex operates as a recurring motif throughout the novel because it reveals the distorted relationship between intimacy and power in this world. Again and again, sex becomes not an act of connection or vulnerability but a calculated strategy for dominance. Characters use it to break wills, assert superiority, or reinforce loyalty—not to build authentic emotional bonds. This motif reflects the broader theme of domination and cultivation that shapes both the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres; even the most personal acts are repurposed for political or survivalist aims.

All of these circumstances present sex not as an act of intimacy or vulnerability, but as an assertion of power. The struggle between those Duncan is training and the Honored Matres is solely one of control, and the sexual assault of ghola Miles Teg is a form of psychologically attack meant to trigger resistance in him, something powerful enough to jog his memories of a previous life. That the Bene Gesserit ultimately adopt this method—even if reluctantly—demonstrates how pervasive this motif is within the novel’s moral world. Power corrupts not only political systems but also the most private aspects of human experience. All of these occasions are in line with the warped perception many cultures or characters in the Dune series have with emotional or physical connections with others: The Bene Gesserit, for example, revoke any expressions or feelings of love.