Dune

Paul Atreides

Heir to House Atreides, Paul is the central figure of Dune, rigorously trained in politics, strategy, combat, and Bene Gesserit disciplines. His journey to the desert world of Arrakis binds him to its harsh ecology and people, setting him at the nexus of feudal power struggles, prophecy, and the far‑reaching consequences of leadership and belief—without simple answers.

Duke Leto Atreides

The noble head of House Atreides and father of Paul, Duke Leto is a principled statesman and seasoned military leader tasked with assuming control of the desert planet Arrakis. His honor, strategic sense, and compassion anchor the Atreides’ reputation and set in motion the political and moral stakes that shape the story’s central conflicts.

Lady Jessica

Lady Jessica is the Bene Gesserit-trained concubine of Duke Leto Atreides and the devoted mother of Paul, serving as his mentor in discipline, observation, and subtle power. Her training, political acuity, and unshakable loyalty make her a quiet architect of House Atreides’ strategy and survival, placing her at the nexus of court intrigue, cultural negotiation, and family destiny without overshadowing the central hero’s journey.

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is the cunning and ruthless head of House Harkonnen, primary rivals to House Atreides. A master of political manipulation and cruelty, he orchestrates plots within plots to gain control of the desert planet Arrakis and its priceless spice, serving as a central antagonist whose schemes drive much of the novel’s conflict and reveal the brutal realpolitik of the Imperium.

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is the Baron Harkonnen’s favored nephew and carefully groomed heir, a charismatic and ruthless counterpoint to Paul Atreides. A skilled duelist and political pawn with ambitions of his own, he represents the Harkonnens’ calculated menace—youthful charm masking a dangerous, manipulative streak—making him a central foil in the struggle for power around Arrakis and the Imperium.

Piter de Vries

A “twisted” Mentat in service to House Harkonnen, Piter de Vries is a human computer whose logic is warped by Tleilaxu conditioning and his own taste for cruelty. He orchestrates schemes, counsels the Baron with razor-edged analyses, and embodies the novel’s theme of intellect divorced from morality—an antagonist whose mind is as dangerous as any weapon.

Thufir Hawat

Thufir Hawat is the Atreides Mentat—human computer and master strategist—serving as Master of Assassins and chief adviser. Renowned for his cold logic, political acuity, and unwavering loyalty, he shapes House Atreides’ defenses and counsels Duke Leto and Paul on the intricate perils of Arrakis and Imperium power plays, embodying the novel’s themes of strategy, loyalty, and the limits of calculation without revealing major plot turns.

Duncan Idaho

Duncan Idaho is the Atreides’ master-of-arms and a famed Swordmaster of Ginaz, renowned for his unmatched skill, loyalty, and charisma. He serves as a mentor and protector to Paul Atreides, acts as a trusted agent and diplomat—especially in dealings on Arrakis—and his courage and devotion make him a linchpin in House Atreides’ fortunes without revealing major plot turns.

Gurney Halleck

Gurney Halleck is House Atreides’ master-of-arms and a fiercely loyal mentor to Paul Atreides, famed both as a deadly warrior and as a troubadour who plays the baliset. His shrewd battlefield sense, unwavering devotion, and sardonic wit make him a vital pillar of the Atreides household, grounding Paul amid the shifting dangers of noble politics and survival on Arrakis.

Dr. Wellington Yueh

The court physician to House Atreides, Dr. Yueh is a Suk‑trained doctor renowned for his “Imperial Conditioning,” a reputation that makes him seem above suspicion. Quiet, erudite, and devoted to his wife Wanna, he becomes a subtle fulcrum in the political and moral tensions surrounding the Atreides’ move to Arrakis, embodying themes of trust, loyalty, and the limits of control without overtly taking center stage.

Stilgar

Stilgar is the pragmatic and fiercely loyal naib (chief) of Sietch Tabr, a seasoned desert commander who embodies Fremen discipline, tradition, and survival craft. Serving as a key liaison between outsider protagonists and Fremen society, he provides guidance, protection, and strategic insight, helping to bridge cultures while safeguarding his people’s honor and future.

Chani

A Fremen warrior and the daughter of Liet-Kynes, Chani becomes Paul Atreides’ closest companion and cultural guide, bridging him to the desert people and their harsh world. Fierce, resourceful, and deeply loyal, she plays a crucial role in Paul’s survival and rise while embodying the pragmatic spirituality of the Fremen.

Liet-Kynes

Liet-Kynes is the Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis and a visionary ecologist working to understand—and quietly reshape—the desert world’s environment. Moving between imperial politics and Fremen society, he serves as a crucial bridge, guiding House Atreides through the planet’s hidden realities while nurturing a long-term plan to make Arrakis more life-sustaining, all without revealing too much too soon.

Glossu Rabban

Glossu “Beast” Rabban is Baron Harkonnen’s brutal enforcer and elder nephew, installed as the tyrannical governor of Arrakis to extract maximum spice and crush resistance. His heavy-handed rule and appetite for cruelty make him a symbol of Harkonnen oppression, setting conditions that shape the political and social turmoil surrounding House Atreides without delving into the story’s major revelations.

Emperor Shaddam IV

Shaddam IV, Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe and head of House Corrino, is the political fulcrum of Dune’s opening conflict. Wielding the fearsome Sardaukar and centuries of imperial influence, he maneuvers great houses and the spice economy to check rising rivals, inadvertently setting the stage for the upheavals that drive Paul Atreides’s story—an embodiment of power anxious about its own fragility.

Princess Irulan

Princess Irulan Corrino is the Emperor’s daughter, a Bene Gesserit–trained noblewoman and meticulous historian whose epigraphs frame much of the saga’s lore. In Dune, she serves as a political figure and observer at the nexus of imperial power, using her education, discretion, and access to shape the historical record while navigating the dangerous currents of court intrigue—making her a subtle but significant force in the story.

Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

A powerful Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit, Gaius Helen Mohiam serves as a political and spiritual authority who enforces the Sisterhood’s secretive plans. She tests young Paul Atreides with the gom jabbar, oversees Lady Jessica’s obedience to Bene Gesserit directives, and maneuvers among nobles and factions with calculated discipline. Her presence frames the novel’s themes of power, prophecy, and control without overtly taking center stage.

Count Hasimir Fenring

Count Hasimir Fenring is the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV’s closest confidant—part envoy, part fixer, and, when needed, discreet assassin. A consummate political tactician, he moves through the Imperium’s courts with quiet, lethal competence, often acting as the Emperor’s eyes and hands in delicate matters. Paired with his Bene Gesserit wife, Lady Margot, he is a subtle, high-stakes player in the power struggles surrounding Arrakis and House Atreides.

Alia Atreides

Alia Atreides is the daughter of Lady Jessica and Duke Leto and the younger sister of Paul Muad’Dib, born on Arrakis with Bene Gesserit conditioning and prophetic awareness already awakened. Her uncanny maturity and abilities make her a powerful, controversial figure who links Fremen, Atreides, and Bene Gesserit interests, shaping political and religious currents around Paul without revealing the story’s central turns.

Shadout Mapes

Shadout Mapes serves as the Atreides household’s Fremen housekeeper on Arrakis and becomes an early bridge between the newcomers and the native Fremen. Through her guarded trust and ritual customs, she introduces Lady Jessica to the ways and values of the desert people, signaling the possibility of alliance while revealing the peril and complexity of Arrakeen society—especially its harsh laws around water and survival—without giving away the story’s major turns.

Esmar Tuek

A prominent smuggler on Arrakis, Esmar Tuek operates at the edges of imperial and Harkonnen power, balancing profit with survival. His network and discretion make him an important conduit among smugglers, Fremen, and off-world interests, and his choices subtly influence the shifting alliances that shape events around House Atreides—without placing him at the center of the main conflict.

Staban Tuek

Staban Tuek is a prominent Arrakeen smuggler leader and the son of Esmar Tuek, representing the pragmatic, profit-driven faction that operates between noble houses and the Fremen. He serves as a key contact and occasional ally or foil to major players, illustrating how the spice trade’s underworld influences the shifting power dynamics on Arrakis without pledging loyalty to any single banner.

Jamis

Jamis is a Fremen warrior whose fierce pride and adherence to tribal custom bring him into direct conflict with an offworld newcomer, spotlighting the unforgiving honor codes of the deep desert. Through him, the story reveals vital aspects of Fremen survival, ritual, and community, making his role a key lens on their culture without dominating the larger political saga.

Otheym

Otheym is a seasoned Fremen fighter of the Fedaykin and a trusted loyalist within Paul Atreides’ desert forces. He serves as a reliable lieutenant during raids and skirmishes, embodying the discipline, stealth, and fierce devotion of the Fremen while quietly advancing Paul’s cause in the deep desert.

Harah

Harah is a Fremen of Sietch Tabr, the former wife of Jamis who, by Fremen custom after a duel, enters Paul Atreides’s household. She serves as an attendant and household organizer, guiding Paul and Jessica through Fremen customs and helping integrate them into sietch life without drawing focus from the central political and prophetic threads of the story.