Wensicia Corrino/DE



Wensicia Corrino (10170 AG-10227 AG) was the third daughter of the Emperor Shaddam IV and his wife the Lady Anirul; House Corrino regent for her son Farad'n (Harq al-Ada) until his alliance with the Atreides.

History
The third of five girls, Wensicia was raised and trained at home, presumably by tutors, where she learned many of the Bene Gesserit martial arts, the accumulation of data techniques, and the use of poisons.

Wensicia, with the rest of the household, followed her father into his exile on Salusa Secundus. When she was in her late twenties, her father arranged a liaison between her and Dalak Fenring, second cousin to his close friend Count Hasimir. Their liaison produced Farad'n. There were several theories about their separation. One was that Wensicia's long-standing involvement with various Sardaukar Bashars intimidated Dalak.

Wensicia apparently continued a far more active and intimate relationship with her Sardaukar commanders, never at a loss for companionship when she lived on Salusa Secundus. Somewhat maliciously, Irulan reports Wensicia's boast that she was never without one man in the shadow of another. From al- Ada's notes, however, it seems that the Bashars' view of his mother was not wholly favourable. Her constant nagging at details while paying scant attention to the consequences of overall strategy annoyed her military and political advisors. She had learned the Bene Gesserit skill of data collection, but she had never been able to master the companion skills of analysis and synthesis necessary for effective use of the data. Her nickname among the Bashars was "Lady Ghafla," but her temper and her reputation for swift and vicious action forestalled the use of the title in her presence. Obviously, Wensicia spent little time worrying about ethical conduct, whether it was with her Sardaukar or with the world. Her fabled attempt to assassinate the Atreides twins using methods unsanctioned by the Dictum Familia is evidence of her disregard for other people's rules.

Wensicia's life changed drastically when her son allied himself with Leto and Ghanima. She was then banished to Giedi Prime, where she took refuge with the family of Dalak Fenring. The refuge was given reluctantly, entirely as a favour to her son Farad’n.

Wensicia’s attempts to regain the Empire for her son (an activity al-Ada found increasingly uncomfortable in his position in the Atreides household) were driven by illusions of strength and memories of pride. Wensicia died the last active member of House Corrino, her scheming and plotting a lifelong attempt to become the ruthless family leader her father was unable and her sister Irulan unwilling to be.

Behind the Scenes
In the miniseries, Children of Dune, Wensicia was portrayed by Susan Sarandon and reimagined as being older than Irulan.

When Irulan wrote "My father was 71 years old at the time and looking no older than the man in the portrait, and I was only 14 years old" in her work "In My Father's House" this created a timeline inconsistency regarding her age relative to that Wensicia. Irulan is said to be the older sister throughout the books.

Wensicia's birth year is given as 10,170, but if one cross-references Shaddam's age in the entry (71 years old), this places the event of which Irulan wrote at the year 10,189. If Irulan was indeed 14 at that year, this would place her birth year at 10,175, making her 5 years younger than Wensicia. This inconsistency may have been the result of Irulan not recalling the event properly at the time of her writing the book, which would explain why the faulty dates are present.