What Happens To Zendaya’s Chani In The Books

MT HANNACH
8 Min Read
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This message contains spoilers For the series of “Dune” books.

The “Dune” by Dennis Villeneuve does not open with Aerial view of Caladan or an introductory photo of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet). Instead, we hear a voice: Chani (Zendaya) sets the tone for the “Dune” to come saga Speaking of his native planet, Arrakis, and how beautiful it is. However, she quickly underlines the imminent threat of colonizers and the priority of Fremen. “Foreigners ravage our lands before our eyes[…] Their cruelty to my people is all I know, “she says, getting rid of us in his point of view by prefacting the story of Paul with a disastrous warning.

Our first impression of Chani through Paul’s eyes – both in the book of Frank Herbert “Dune” and the first film “Dune” by Villeneuve – is in the form of dreams. Paul’s nascent foreknowledge makes him dream of Arrakis before even setting foot on the desert planet, but Chani is the only Fremen he sees in these dreams. When Paul talks about her in the books, he noticed his striking blue eyes (a fremeni line due to concentrated spices mixed in the air) and that she calls him “usul”. Usul, of course, is the private name that Paul was going to adopt while living with the Fremen in the future, Chani often using it as a condition for his lover.

The interpretations at the surface of Chani could paint it as the love interest of Paul, but there is more for her than to be a springboard for the ascent of Paul in the Messiah. Even in books (where she is constantly aligned with Paul’s objectives), Chani is a ruthless and fierce player in the “Dune” storyReady to fight to death to protect his loved ones. Here is what happens to him in the novels “Dune” by Herbert.

The many faces of Chani in dune books

Just after Paul and Lady Jessica are forced to navigate to Arrakis on foot (after the coup d’etat of Atreids), they meet Stilgar and a group of Fremen, including Chani. While the Fremen surround them, Chani has a projectile weapon intended for Paul, who is a stranger to his people at this stage. Paul reconciles the girl in her dreams with the one in front of her, but there is a huge dissonance between her visions and his reality. While Dream Chani is soft and tender, the real chan is initially cheeky and kept, often looking at Paul when he has trouble grasping the ways of Fremen. This does not mean that Chani does not help Paul to better integrate; She simply wary foreigners, given The bloody history of the colonizers of Arrakis in the “Dune” universe.

Once Paul proves his value and wins the title of Muad’dib, he and Chani develop a friendship which gradually turns into a romantic link. Even as a lover, however, Chani is not afraid to question Paul or take matters into her own hands with regard to the fight. For example, when a challenger wishes Duel Paul, Chani intervenes and kills the stranger without consulting him, because she is fiercely loyal and sufficiently capable as a warrior. “I am no longer a child chasing scorpions in the Sietch in the light of a halglobe, Usul. I do not play games,” she said coldly, astonishing Paul with the intensity of his affections. In addition, Paul’s mastery on the desert and sandworms is all thanks to her, because she also teaches him to hunt and cook in the midst of as hard and unfavorable conditions.

Shortly after, the first son of Paul and Chani, Leto II, was brutally murdered during a raid in Corino at their home. This grief devastates both, encourage Paul to ingest the mysterious water of lifeAfter which he falls into a long coma. Chani, once again, becomes the key to relaunch his conscience, and it accelerates the path of Paul to become the so-called Messiah.

Chani’s heartbreaking spell in Dune Messie

Note, the “dune: the second” of Villeneuve completely omits the birth and death of Leto II, and the decision of Paul of Ingestion of Life depends only on his wish To test the prophecy surrounding the Kwisatz Haderach. Here, Chani helps him to survive the test, but is skeptical about his sudden ascent to power, which culminates in the victory of Fremeni on the houses Harkonnen and Corino. Chani’s attitude towards Paul after this ceremony is what makes Villeneuve’s version different, because Chani d’Herbert is a deeply religious figure that supports Fremeni’s fanaticism reinforcing Paul. While Chani de Villeneuve completely rejects Paul’s claim to the throne (and his political marriage with Princess Irulan) by making her disgust clear, Chani d’Herbert accepts his position as official concubine of Paul without protest. These differences TO DO Making the Chani d’Herbert more traditional than the image that Villeneuve has engraved so far, and it remains to be seen how the Arc de Chani in the point of view of the latter takes place.

By returning to Chani’s fate in books, she suffers enormously after her move to Arrakeen Palace, because her status as a concubine interferes with the Bene Gesserit reproduction program. Irulan has his meals with contraceptives to prevent Chani from giving birth, although the latter thwarts this by ingesting large doses of spice mixture. Unfortunately, the spice complicates its pregnancy at the birth of the birth of it and the pre-annited twins of Paul Ghanima and Leto II. In the end, the spices concentrated in its system, combined with the trauma of such a difficult delivery, led to the death of Chani shortly after.

In the “Dune” books, Chani is more than the lover intended for Paul Atreids. She is also the daughter of the ecologist Liet-Kynes, a Sayyadina (religious priestess) deeply involved in Fremeni mysticism, and someone who dreams that the Dunes dunekis will turn into a lush oasis. That said, would her tragic fate be different if she had disputed the status of Paul not so suitable for another colonial oppressor? Maybe Villeneuve’s next “Dune Messiah” can answer this quite difficult question.



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