Vladimir Harkonnen Totally Explained

Everything about Vladimir Harkonnen totally explained

The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune, but is also a major character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999-2001) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The character is brought back as a ghola in the Herbert/Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).
The Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses) in Dune says of him (in part):

VLADIMIR HARKONNEN (10,110-10,193) Commonly referred to as Baron Harkonnen, his title is officially Siridar (planetary governor) Baron. Vladimir Harkonnen is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen who was banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin. The return of House Harkonnen to power generally is ascribed to adroit manipulation of the whale fur market and later consolidation with melange wealth from Arrakis.

In Dune, Herbert notes that the Baron possesses a "basso voice" and is so "grossly and immensely fat" that he requires anti-gravity devices known as suspensors to support his weight. It is implied by Margot Fenring that the Baron has allowed himself to become obese.
As ruthless and cruel as he's intelligent and cunning, the Baron's greatest skill is his talent for the subtle and clever manipulation of others through their weaknesses or his understanding of human nature. His sexual preference for young men is implied in Dune and Children of Dune. It is noted, however, that he "once permitted himself to be seduced" in the liaison which produced his secret daughter.

Character biography

Dune

As Dune begins, a longstanding feud exists between the Harkonnens of Giedi Prime and the Atreides of Caladan. The Baron's intent to exterminate the Atreides line seems close to fruition as Duke Leto Atreides is lured to the desert planet Arrakis on the pretense of taking over the valuable melange operation there. The Baron has an agent in the Atreides household: Leto's own physician, the trusted Suk doctor Wellington Yueh. Though Suk Imperial Conditioning supposedly makes the subject incapable of inflicting harm, the Baron's twisted Mentat Piter De Vries notes:

It's assumed that ultimate conditioning can't be removed without killing the subject. However, as someone once observed, given the right lever you can move a planet. We found the lever that moved the doctor.

The Baron has taken Yueh's wife Wanna prisoner, threatening her torture and death unless Yueh complies with his demands. Harkonnen also distracts Leto's Mentat Thufir Hawat from discovering Yueh by guiding Hawat toward another suspect: Leto's Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica. The Atreides are soon attacked by Harkonnen forces (secretly supplemented by the seemingly unstoppable Imperial Sardaukar) as Yueh disables the protective shields around the Atreides palace on Arrakis. As instructed, Yueh takes Leto prisoner; however, suspecting that the Baron has already killed Wanna, Yueh provides the captive Leto with a fake tooth filled with poisonous gas as a means to kill the Baron (though Leto would die as well). De Vries kills Yueh but he also dies with Leto in the assassination attempt; however Harkonnen survives. The Baron then manipulates Hawat into his service, insuring his control over the Mentat by secretly administering to him a residual poison invented by De Vries; to avoid death, the antidote for this poison must be taken regularly and continuously.
   Leto and Jessica's son Paul Atreides flees into the desert with Jessica, and both are presumed dead. Paul's prescience helps him determine the identity of Jessica's father, the "maternal grandfather who can't be named" — the Baron himself.
   In, the deteriorating Baron at first walks with the assistance of a cane, then relies on belt-mounted suspensors to retain mobility. He consults numerous doctors in the expanse of time between the and Dune: House Harkonnen, up to and including his future instrument Dr. Yueh, all of whom are ultimately no help. To conceal this debilitation, he pretends that his obesity is due to intentional overindulgence, lest the Landsraad remove him from power. When he determines that Mohiam inflicted him with the disease, he attempts to coerce her into revealing the cure, but soon discovers that there's none.
   The Baron, Duke Leto, and Jessica herself are unaware that Jessica is secretly the Baron's daughter or that he's even fathered one; in the year 10,176, the Baron's grandson Paul is born to Leto and Jessica.

Hunters of Dune

In Hunters of Dune (2006), the continuation of the original series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the Baron is resurrected as a ghola (5,029 years after the death of Alia) by the Lost Tleilaxu Uxtal, acting on orders from the Face Dancer Khrone. Khrone intends to use the Baron ghola to manipulate a ghola of Paul Atreides, named Paolo. Khrone tries various torture techniques for three years to awaken the 12-year-old Baron's genetic memories; these methods fail due to the Baron's masochistic/sadistic nature. Khrone finds with success when he imprisons the Baron in a sensory deprivation tank for a prolonged period; the Baron's memories for his former life return. Ironically, the reincarnated Baron is soon haunted by the voice of Alia in his mind.

In adaptations

In David Lynch's 1984 film, Baron Harkonnen was portrayed by Kenneth McMillan. In this characterization, he's grotesquely overweight, dressed in filthy garments and covered in large, black pustules which require constant draining and treatment. This version of the character is more overtly unstable than in the novel, screaming and laughing incoherently at any given moment and even drinking the blood of a servant after removing a "heart plug."
British actor Ian McNeice's interpretation of the Baron in the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune (and its sequel, 2003's Children of Dune) is, though dramatic, somewhat lighter and more eloquent in comparison to Lynch's version, and therefore more consistent with the novel. Though the Baron still takes sadistic enjoyment in the suffering of others, he's portrayed as somewhat flamboyant, pompous and self-indulgent.
Though Herbert's novel Dune seems to describe Harkonnen's suspensor belt as simply enabling him to stand and walk upright rather than actually "fly,"

Other media

The video game, whose in-game cut scenes are visually inspired by David Lynch's film, features a character named Baron Rakan Harkonnen, portrayed by Michael McShane. This Harkonnen is nearly identical to the film's version of Vladimir in both appearance (minus the belt-mounted suspensors) and personality, and also dies by poisoning.

Notes and references

Further Information

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