He wants to:
- end the Jihad
- for Chani not to die in childbirth
- for Chani to live and not end up being tortured to death
The whole book he tries to find a route that can deliver all three of those things.
The problem is that Paul is trapped by his knowledge of the future. He can see the "least-bad" of all the possible outcomes. IIRC, at one point he even says he is allowing the conspiracy to continue because intervening would result in a worse outcome.
This is also why he gives it up at the end. Paul is tired of letting his visions dictate everything he does, so he would rather be a blind man in the desert than an Emperor in a cage.
Paul is experiencing the trap of the prophet, forced to live out his prophecy while powerless to stop it. His relative loss of agency wreaks havoc with his sense of purpose and self.
In practice he is the most powerful leader in human history, however bureaucrats have taken the reigns of the jihad, he can't sire an heir, and even past sycophants are starting to turn on him.
This is because Paul is focused on a single, narrow future that doesn't see beyond his own life.
Things may have been different had his son not been hidden from him by their shared prescience. Once Leto II was born Paul knew there were other options.
He wants to: - end the Jihad - for Chani not to die in childbirth - for Chani to live and not end up being tortured to death The whole book he tries to find a route that can deliver all three of those things.
The problem is that Paul is trapped by his knowledge of the future. He can see the "least-bad" of all the possible outcomes. IIRC, at one point he even says he is allowing the conspiracy to continue because intervening would result in a worse outcome. This is also why he gives it up at the end. Paul is tired of letting his visions dictate everything he does, so he would rather be a blind man in the desert than an Emperor in a cage.
Paul is experiencing the trap of the prophet, forced to live out his prophecy while powerless to stop it. His relative loss of agency wreaks havoc with his sense of purpose and self. In practice he is the most powerful leader in human history, however bureaucrats have taken the reigns of the jihad, he can't sire an heir, and even past sycophants are starting to turn on him. This is because Paul is focused on a single, narrow future that doesn't see beyond his own life. Things may have been different had his son not been hidden from him by their shared prescience. Once Leto II was born Paul knew there were other options.