“Feyd-Rautha dipped his head with the required courtesy.
He stared at the Lady Fenring.
She was golden-haired and willowy, her perfection of figure clothed in a flowing gown of ecru
- simple fitness of form without ornament.
Gray-green eyes stared back at him.
She had that Bene Gesserit serene repose about her that the young man found subtly disturbing.”
Adapting the strange and sprawling sci-fi novel Dune has historically proven to be a
daunting challenge, one of the reasons for this is the large number of characters featured
throughout Frank Herbert’s story.
In the attempts to adapt this complex novel to a concise visual medium several supporting
roles have sadly been diminished or omitted altogether.
This certainly has been the case with the character of Margot Fenring.
In light of actress Lea Seydoux’s casting as Lady Margot in Denis Villenueve’s Dune
Part 2 I’d like to discuss the role of the Count and Lady Fenring in the novel to take
a look at their peculiar relationship and how they operate in the interests of the powerful
figures and organizations they serve.
Spoiler warning as I will be discussing events occurring throughout Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Lady Margot is a member of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, a clandestine religious order
capable of superhuman feats of observation and control.
To outsiders they exist to serve the Empire while in reality they secretly manipulate
the rich and powerful behind the scenes to realize their plan to control human destiny.
Lady Margot is completely committed to the Bene Gesserit’s agenda.
It was the Sisterhood that allowed the marital union between Margot and Count Hasimir of
the minor House Fenring for the influence it would give them in the Imperial Court.
Hasimir has been a close and trusted companion of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam the 4th of
House Corrino since childhood.
It is noted by the Emperor’s daughter Princess Irulan that the Count is her father’s only
real friend.
A killer with the manners of a rabbit, the Count uses his talents as an assassin, and
mentat political tactician to serve the Emperor’s interests.
Though the Count has proven his devotion to Emperor Shaddam he is a man with divided loyalties
and the Emperor isn’t the only one whose agenda he serves.
He also has deep affection for his wife and is supportive of her role in the Sisterhood’s
plan for humanity.
For thousands of years their order has been secretly making political maneuvers, manipulating
the various Houses of the Landsraad and their bloodlines to breed for specific genetic traits
in order to produce a powerful being.
A man with the heightened abilities of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, A Spacing Guild
Navigator and Mentat all in one enabling him to bridge space and time and allow the Sisterhood
to direct humanity on a course of their choosing.
Lady Margot made use of her position to persuade Emperor Shaddam to marry a Bene Gesserit of
Hidden Rank, who would then bear only daughters to him, these maneuvers were crucial not only
to ensure certain bloodlines would produce their superbeing but that the Sisterhood would
be in a position to control him.
As the events of Dune unfold Lady Margot works to preserve the necessary bloodlines and genetic
traits within that could one day lead to the arrival of the so-called Kwisatz Haderach.
Hasimir understands intimately what is at stake, what the Sisterhood has worked for
thousands of years to achieve as he is also a product of their careful manipulations.
The Count was a might have been, a possible candidate for Kwisatz Haderach who ultimately
was considered a failure as he was a genetic eunuch.
Though he was not the superbeing the sisterhood sought, he still possessed certain traits
of the intended messiah-like figure such as prescience as well as mentat conditioning.
The Count and Lady Fenring openly confide in one another as they operate in the interests
of both the Imperium and the Bene Gesserit.
When Emperor Shaddam commanded that Duke Leto of House Atreides take over stewardship of
Arrakis from House Harkonnen, in a covert attempt to eliminate his potential rival,
the sisterhood knew of the dangers that could befall the young Atreides heir Paul and the
precious blood that ran through his veins.
The Baron Harkonnen as a long embittered enemy of the Atreides left behind all manner of
death traps to be discovered with the hope that one may escape detection.
Before the Fenrings departed their Arakeen palace residence that the Atreides would soon
occupy, Lady Margot made sure to leave an encoded message to warn Paul’s mother and
Bene Gesserit sister Lady Jessica of the immediate and looming dangers.
While this message was too late to prevent Paul from facing the initial attempt on his
life it provided valuable intel which further added to the Bene Gesserit safety measures
in place on this deadly world aimed at protecting Jessica and her son.
Lady Margot’s actions on Arrakis make her an ally-of-sorts to Paul and his mother.
Even though Paul’s very existence is in violation of the sisterhood’s directive
that Lady Jessica bear a daughter.
The possibility remains that he could be their Kwisatz Haderach and if not his bloodline
would still need protecting.
That being said, the Atreides heir is not the only bloodline the Bene Gesserit are seeking
to preserve and control.
After the Harkonnens executed their plan to take back Arrakis and eliminate their bitter
enemy House Atreides in the process.
The Fenrings were sent to visit Baron Vladimir Harkonnen on his homeworld of Geidi Prime.
Their arrival coincided with a special holiday marking his nephew Feyd-Rautha’s birthday
and his being officially chosen as the Baron’s heir.
During their brief visit Count Hasimir interrogates the Baron on the Emperor’s behalf regarding
his handling of the Arrakis Siege and its aftermath.
Lady Margot also has business of her own to attend to on behalf of the Sisterhood and
proceeds to obtain Feyd Rautha’s genetic material through conception in order to preserve
his bloodline.
She also conditions the Harkonnen heir unknowingly via hypno-ligation implanting key words in
the deepest recesses of his mind that will allow the Bene Gesserit to exercise direct
control over him if ever the need arose.
What I find especially interesting is how Lady Margot contrasts with Lady Jessica.
Though Margot is married to Count Fenring and has affection for him, she is every bit
the loyal Bene Gesserit servant, consistently putting the plans of the sisterhood above
all else.
To do the Bene Gesserit’s bidding is always her first priority.
On the other hand Lady Jessica is Duke Leto Atreides only concubine and though not officially
married, they treat each other as though they are.
Their genuine love runs deep and from this love Jessica was moved to put Leto’s desire
for a male heir to carry on the Atreides legacy ahead of the Bene Gesserit’s plans for his
bloodline.
Margot and Jessica are both powerful women with the weight of humanity on their shoulders,
how they choose to wield their power and where they choose to place their devotion speaks
volumes about the differences in their inherent traits and characteristics.
In many corners of the Dune fandom, the Count and Lady Fenring are considered particularly
intriguing due in part to the peculiar way in which they communicate.
Even while they are within earshot of others, the Count is able to speak privately to his
wife through the deployment of a humming code disguised as an unusual speech pattern.
In the previous adaptations of Dune there has not been much time devoted to fleshing
out the characters of the Count and Lady Fenring.
In David Lynch’s 1984 version they are omitted and in Syfy channel miniseries adaptation
the Count only has a minor role as the Emperor’s advisor with little to detail his background.
In that same series, many of Lady Margot’s actions in the book were repurposed as a part
of director John Harrison’s expansion of the role of Princess Irulan.
While Margot Fenring appears only briefly in the pages of Dune, and while her work on
Giedi Prime and Arrakis end up doing very little to achieve their intended outcome,
her role in the novel provides a testament to the impressive capabilities and influence
wielded by the Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit.
Overall, this unique duo serves as an odd yet formidable power couple pulling the strings
and carefully manipulating events behind the scenes of Frank Herbert’s interstellar Imperium.
But I’m curious to know what you think of Lady Margot Fenring.
Is there a quality of this character or particular aspect of her relationship with the Count
that stands out most to you?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.