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It's been a while since I've read the Dune series. Something I was never quite clear on was why did the Bene Gesserit (BG) want to breed the Kwisatz Haderach (KH) at all?

I understand that the BG were only able to access matrilineal memories; but what did they seek to achieve by having access to patrilineal memories (through KH)? I.e. what in-universe purpose would that have served them? While on the subject, what in-universe purpose was served by having access to matrilineal memories?

(I hope this is not a dupe: I looked through SF&F's five pages of hits for "Kwisatz Haderach" and did not find a question that was quite what I'm asking here)

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    I'm not going to answer because I'm too unsure of my observation, but if I remember the books, there's a mental "place we cannot go" that the BG believed the KG could "go to" (look into). That the KH could look back along both paternal and maternal ancestry/time-lines, not just maternal. Such a person would represent the ultimate potential of BG training and capabilities. (That what they got was someone who could see all the threads of time and thanks to the fact that you can't observe something without disturbing it was a wonderfully interesting side effect.)
    – JBH
    Commented Mar 29, 2019 at 20:14
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    They wanted a superhuman that they could control. His lineage would give them enduring control of the known universe.
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 29, 2019 at 20:20
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    The Dune Encyclopedia strongly implies that they were originally looking for a mythical "saviour" to guide them and lead them, but lost track of their ultimate goal millennia ago, content to simply guide the Empire and work on perfecting the human race.
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 29, 2019 at 23:40
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    I think this is explored in Heretics of Dune. In Heretics the Bene Gesserits bred a mentat warrior named Miles Teg (who was also Bene Gesserit trained by his mother) who was a terrifyingly effective leader. The BG used him to essentially end conflicts in their part of space and maintain control.
    – just_happen_to_know
    Commented Apr 1, 2019 at 18:12
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    To try and put it clearer: the BG wanted a KH so they could control the universe. The patrilineal memories were probably a cool side effect (they could access that huge untapped well of knowledge) but the real advantage was having an undefeatable prescient warrior/diplomat doing whatever they commanded.
    – just_happen_to_know
    Commented Apr 1, 2019 at 18:25

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The BG wanted a KH so they could control the universe. The patrilineal memories were probably a cool side effect (they could access that huge untapped well of knowledge) but the real advantage was having an undefeatable prescient warrior/diplomat doing whatever they commanded.

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I would venture that in the early days of the Bene Gesserit, their motives were essentially religous: they considered the Reverend Mother State of Consciousness to be holy, and creating a "Reverend Male" would be equally holy - as well as a source of wisdom. I imagine this as their "We exist only to serve." days. But in order to try to positive influence the society in which they found themselves, they chose to move whenever possible into the political circles of the Great. When they began to breed with them, they created unanticipated consequences: they were breeding into themselves the genes for personal ambition, the will to dominate. Thus their plans for the Kwisatz Haderach shifted toward trying to create someone they could use to their own ends.

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  • Aren't the Gene Gesserit explicitly non-religious? They create and use religions to control the populace of planets throughout the galaxy, they don't believe in these religions themselves.
    – Jontia
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 15:29

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