Original artwork, not a still
Dune • 1965
Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear
Fear is the mind-killer.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The litany is a Bene Gesserit technique for seizing the mind in the moment of terror, and this sentence is its hinge: fear is the thing that kills clear thought long before any needle does. It sets up the novel's whole theme of discipline over instinct, and it is the most recited part of the book. Fans have borrowed it for everything from exam nerves to album titles, and film and game adaptations lean on it whenever Paul faces something he cannot beat by force.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for DuneShow the scene
In the opening chapter of Frank Herbert's Dune (1965), the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam tests young Paul Atreides on Caladan. She holds a poisoned needle, the gom jabbar, at his neck and makes him keep a hand in a box that causes agonising nerve pain, to see whether he can overcome his animal instincts. Paul steadies himself with the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear, a mantra beginning "I must not fear", of which this line is the second sentence. The full litany goes on to call fear the little-death that brings total obliteration, and ends with the speaker alone remaining.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Dune (novel)Plot summary; Adaptations and cultural influenceReference checked
- Wikiquote: DuneDune (1965) sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
