Women of the Future: Gender, Technology, and Cyborgs in Frank Herbert’s Dune Mémoire Carrie Lynn Evans Maîtrise en littératures d’expression anglaise Maître ès arts (M.A.) Québec, Canada © Carrie Lynn Evans, 2016 Résumé Cette thèse défend les mérites d’une lecture cyborgienne de l’œuvre de science- fiction de Frank Herbert, Dune, où la vision particulière des sciences et technologies nous permet d’interpréter plusieurs personnages en tant que réitération Nouvelle Vague du cyborg. Publié en 1965, Dune introduit des personnages féminins atypiques pour cette époque compte tenu de leurs attributs tels qu’une capacité intellectuelle accrue, une imposante puissance de combat et une immunité manifeste contre la faiblesse émotionnelle. Cependant, le roman reste ambivalent en ce qui concerne ces femmes : en dépit de leurs qualités admirables, elles sont d’autre part caractérisées par des stéréotypes régressifs, exposants une sexualité instinctive, qui les confinent tout au mieux aux rôles de mère, maitresse ou épouse. Finalement, dans le roman, elles finissent par jouer le rôle du méchant. Cette caractérisation se rapproche beaucoup de celle du cyborg femelle qui est d’usage courant dans les productions de science fiction pour le grand public des décennies plus récentes. Par conséquent, cette thèse défend qu’une lecture cyborgienne de Dune complète et accroisse une analyse sexospécifique, car cette approche comporte une théorisation essentielle des réactions à l’égard de la technologie qui, selon Evans, sont entretissées dans la réaction patriarcale de ce roman à l’égard des femmes. Bien que ces créatures fictives ne soient pas encore communes à l’époque de la rédaction de Dune, Jessica et certains autres personnages du roman peuvent néanmoins être considérés comme exemples primitifs des cyborgs, parce qu’ils incarnent la science et la technologie de leur culture et qu’ils possèdent d’autres éléments typiques du cyborg. L’hypothèse propose que la représentation des femmes dans Dune ne découle pas seulement de l’attrait pour le chauvinisme ou la misogynie, mais qu’elle est en fait grandement influencée par la peur de la technologie qui est transposée sur la femme comme c’est couramment le cas dans la littérature cyborg subséquente. Ainsi, ce roman annonce le futur sous-genre cyborg de la science-fiction. iii Abstract Evans argues for the merits of a cyborgian reading of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel, Dune, on the basis that the novel’s particular conception of science and technology allows many of the characters to be understood as New Wave iterations of the cyborg. First published in 1965, Dune includes female characters uncharacteristic for the genre during this period due to the degree of their intelligence, formidable fighting powers, and seeming freedom from emotional weakness. However, the novel is ambivalent about its super-women: despite their admirable qualities, they are otherwise depicted in retrogressive stereotypes, representing the instinctual sex, naturally best limited to roles of mothers, lovers, and wives; by the novel’s conclusion they are cast as villains. This particular characterization of women shares many qualities with the trope of the female cyborg that becomes common in mass media science fiction of later decades. Therefore, this thesis argues that a cyborgian reading of Dune complements and augments a gender analysis of the novel because this approach incorporates an essential theorization of the reactions to technology that, according to Evans, are interwoven into the novel’s patriarchal response to women. Although these fictional creatures were not yet common at the time of Dune’s writing, Jessica and other characters in the novel can be read nonetheless as early examples of cyborgs because they physically embody their culture’s science and technology, and are consistent with other important hallmarks of the figure. The argument is that Herbert’s depiction of women in Dune does not just arise from an appeal to male chauvinism and misogyny, but is, in fact, strongly influenced by a fear of technology that is projected onto women, as is commonly seen in later cyborg literature. According to such a reading, the novel foreshadows the later cyborg sub- genre of science fiction. v Table of Contents Résumé ........................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ........................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... vii Dedication ................................................................................................................... ix Epigraph ..................................................................................................................... xi Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Context: .................................................................................................................. 3 Summary of Argument: ......................................................................................... 6 Outline of the Chapters: ......................................................................................... 8 Theoretical Framework: ......................................................................................... 9 Review of the Literature: ..................................................................................... 16 Methodology: ....................................................................................................... 21 Chapter One: A Feminist and Gender Analysis of Dune ...................................... 23 Part I: Analyzing Gender ..................................................................................... 27 1.1 Feminist Theory: Man and His Other ............................................................ 29 1.2 Feminist Theory: “Natural” Woman.............................................................. 31 1.3 Feminist Theory: Gender Performance.......................................................... 33 1.4 Feminist Theory: Structures of Patriarchal Society ....................................... 38 1.5 Feminist Theory: Women’s Complicity with Patriarchy as a Survival Strategy ................................................................................................................ 42 1.6 Feminist Theory: Conclusion......................................................................... 44 Part II: Analyzing Gender in Dune ..................................................................... 45 2.1 The Construction of the Masculine Norm in Dune ........................................ 47 2.2 Gender in Dune: Nature vs. Nurture .............................................................. 52 2.3 Structures of Patriarchal Society in Dune ...................................................... 62 2.4 Survival Strategies for Women in Dune ........................................................ 68 2.5 Gender in Dune: Conclusion.......................................................................... 72 Chapter Two: A Cyborgian Analysis of Dune ........................................................ 75 Part I: A Context for Cyborgs .............................................................................. 79 1.1 Cyborgs in American Culture: Herbert’s Context ......................................... 81 1.2 Cyborgs in American Culture: A History of Female Machines .................... 83 1.3 Cyborgs in American Culture: The Twentieth Century Cyborg.................... 88 Part II: Cyborgs in Dune ...................................................................................... 93 2.2 Cyborgs in Dune: Defining Criteria............................................................. 104 2.3 Cyborgs in Dune: Figure of the Female Cyborg ......................................... 110 vii 2.4 Cyborgs in Dune: Themes in Cyborg Narratives ......................................... 115 Part III: Monstrous Motherhood ....................................................................... 121 3.1 Monstrous Mothers and Disastrous Births ................................................... 123 3.2 Monstrous Mothers and Disastrous Births in Dune ..................................... 126 3.3 Cyborgs in Dune: Conclusion ...................................................................... 133 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 135 Works Cited ............................................................................................................. 143 viii Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my son, Merrick Evan Williams, who was very patient and good-natured in his mother’s absence during this process. He was also very thoughtful in suggesting further examples of cyborgs for my consideration. I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jean-Philippe Marcoux for providing excellent support and guidance through this entire process, even while on sabbatical leave. I could not have hoped for a more positive master’s experience, in large part due to Dr. Marcoux’s generosity of spirit. I am also very grateful to Harry Gorham, for being at all times supportive, affirming, and just generally wonderful overall. My parents, Dr. Craig A. Evans and Ginny Evans,