Jolie

, my guess is that it's part of the auto-biographical element in Ayn Rand's novel. I live in a country that has been ruled by a communist dictatorship (Romania- that is; luckily that was mostly before I was born ) and there have been hundreds of people killed while they were trying to cross the border into Yougoslavia, where they could have more easily escaped towards the West. It was a fact of life- and I guess everyone who did flee the country has gone trough a lot of fear; there are things that leave a a mark forever. I guess when writing Ayn Rand was thinking that it may have happened to her, as well.

Oops.... To make up for it: Dagny at the press conference -inauguration of the John Galt Line: ""Would you oblige me to take this down verbatim? Miss Taggart says- quote- I expect to make a pile of money on the John Galt Line. I will have earned it. Close quote. Thank you very much." "I suggest you plant a few cameras around the bridge. The collapse of the bridge would give you some interesting shots."

I think it is what in social psychology is called "cognitive dissonance"- that is, when something happens to you that clearly contradicts the rules you lived by so far/what you believed in etc. you have to "make up" something that will adjust your new experience to your old beliefs. She couldn't have said "I wanted Roark" because she was strictly imposing on herself not to want anything- therefore she "makes up" in her mind that he raped her- since that would imply no desire of her own.

From "The Fountainhead", when Wynand makes it pretty clear to Keating that he will get Stoneridge in exchange of him sleeping with Dominique: "Please, Mr. Wynand, let's drop it. I don't know what I am supposed to do." "That's simple. You're supposed to slap my face"

From beginning to end-just once. But I return for more or less random passages each time I feel down- and it helps .

I'd say- definitely Dagny and Hank. It's really amazing how they change each other's lives and ways of thinking and they learn from each other- as opposed to Galt who doesn't need life lessons from anyone. I also have a huge, huge deal of admiration for the way Hank took Dagny falling in love with Galt. (So I guess I'm biased on this one because my ex-boyfriend is now my best friend... I guess I learned a lot about how to deal with it from Rearden's character.)