The Notions of the Valuable: How Symbolic and Economic Value Discuss the Fragile Nature of Ecology in Frank Herbert’s Dune

Abstract

What determines value? Value-theory is a complex field of study, but in Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel ‘Dune,’ there are especially two categories of value that come to light: economic and symbolic value. In the novel, economic and symbolic value are demonstrated by the natural resources of the spice mélange – a strange substance which allows interstellar travel within the fictional Empire but only found the desert planet Arrakis – and water, the building block of life which is almost non-existent on the planet. In this dissertation, these ideas are explored by using real-world theories of value and the different social groups within the novel to determine the value of water and the spice in ‘Dune.