Chapterhouse: Dune

Content Warning: This section contains a reference to child sexual abuse.

Odrade has an internal persona called the Sea Child. When she joined the Bene Gesserit, her great capacity for compassion and kindness was notable. The Sisterhood frowns upon emotion, endeavoring to be detached at all times. Odrade was unable to fully purge herself of emotion and instead created an alternate, innocent persona in herself to carry those feelings for her. The Sea Child is so called after Odrade’s love of swimming. Odrade senses the Sea Child when she is in need of balance. She thinks, “Her personal concept of sanity came from those times. The ability to balance on strange seas. The ability to maintain your deepest self despite unexpected waves” (32). She acknowledges that the Bene Gesserit’s approach of rejecting individuality and emotional connections aren’t foolproof; to maintain strength and make informed choices, she must be in touch with her deeper self. The Sea Child serves as a kind of intuition, warning Odrade of danger that she isn’t fully cognizant of and helping her find a sense of safety again.

The Sea Child functions as a recurring motif of inner life, self-preservation, and emotional resilience in a world dominated by repression and control.