DagnyRearden

Interesting question. I like a wide variety of books for a variety of reasons. Not all of them are high literature and not all of them necessarily stay 100% within my ideals. When I am feeling anxious or unsure, I get into a survivalist frame of mind and I need some roots-and-berries stories of self sufficiency that I can live through and find reassurance in. So, I turn to prehistoric fiction like Clan of the Cave Bear or pioneer stories as simple as Little House on the Prairie or post apocalyptic fiction that is not grim, such as The World Made By Hand. When I am comfortable, I appreciate good writing with exacting detail. Jane Eyre, Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, Les Miserables, Anne of Green Gables are some of my favourites. I dislike a lot of modern fiction, as I find it focuses on ugliness or pain. I used to read a lot of Stephen King as a teenager and I can't stand it any more. I plan on reading War and Peace as soon as I am finished my current book (Biography: Ayn Rand and the World She Made.) I hope War and Peace is excellent. When I am slightly bored, which is often, I turn to science fiction and fantasy. J.R.R. Tolkien, Gregory MacGuire, Arthur C. Clarke, Susanna Clarke. I need to read Asimov. When I'm getting down or pessimistic, I will read some Star Trek fiction, even though I know its pulp. I love STNG and the clarity and optimism of that world, and it is comforting to buy a ticket on those Star Ships sometimes. Listing these things, I realize why Atlas Shrugged has been my favourite novel for ten years. It takes my entire mind, no matter what my situation and mood: anxious, appreciative, and other. It covers the romantic spirit, the excellent language, the survivalist, the post apocalypse, the science fiction... D.R.

Hello, How do I ask that Ms. Jennifer Connelly and her husband Mr. Paul Bettany play Dagny and Hank? They are PERFECT both in looks and in gravity. Excellent looks. Excellent acting. http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/ima...aul-bettany.jpg D.R.

I love the art in your gallery. Thank you for posting them to your site. I drink them in when I need a release and I look forward to the day when I can purchase one of the works. D.R.

Hello, I am looking for the wide, black and white photo print of the New York City skyline with the quote from the Fountainhead on it. I have seen it offered online before, and I am now unable to find it. "I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body." Does anyone remember where to find this? D.R.

Hello, I will attempt to respond in an intelligent manner, but work has been very demanding lately with the devastation in Haiti, so this response may be shorter than is needed. Yes, I believe than man and woman must see each other as equals in order to be happy and fulfilled when in each other’s company. I think that Rand describes that painfully well in several passages: when Rearden thinks of Dagny standing on the train car….. when Francisco walks to her on the hill, speaks to her after mistakenly slapping her “you’re wonderful,” helps her through the first few moments after the John Galt line was destroyed, etc. The novel is full of mutual admiration and assessment… and constant reaching for what is great in one’s self and looking for it in another. "Come on. You're in no condition to talk about it." "I—" She wanted to protest, but said, "No, I guess I'm not." He led her out to the street, and she found herself walking silently in time with the steady rhythm of his steps, the grasp of his fingers on her arm unstressed and firm. He signaled a passing taxicab and held the door open for her. She obeyed him without questions; she felt relief, like a swimmer who stops struggling. The spectacle of a man acting with assurance, was a life belt thrown to her at a moment when she had forgotten the hope of its existence. The relief was not in the surrender of responsibility, but in the sight of a man able to assume it. I think it is entirely possible to look up to someone who is also your equal, as long as the other party does the same. I get the image of two pillars leaning toward each other while also reaching for the sky, where they actually meet is beyond sight because they are constantly looking up to each other… I think that both men and women require the release of being with an equal partner… it is being accepted for ones highest values, it is a moral sanction…. But when it comes to the special union of the two sexes, I think that many women express it in a slightly different way. Perhaps it is deeply psychological or instinctive, put it has something to do with being protected or… kept in someway… akin to the fact that when a couple is startled, the male almost always leaps in front of the female… perhaps the origins are that deep. This is why Dagny’s “feminine” traits are so pronounced when in the presence of a man she admires. She is happy to wear a peasant skirt and shop for potatoes while with Galt in Colorado, the idea of making him a dinner thrills her. She is startled when Francisco is the only one to have noticed her achingly feminine beauty at the Reardens’ anniversary party: "Why do you keep watching me?" "Curiosity." "About what?" "Your reaction to the things which you don't find amusing." "Why should you care about my reaction to anything?" "That is my own way of having a good time, which, incidentally, you are not having, are you, Dagny? Besides, you're the only woman worth watching here." She stood defiantly still, because the way he looked at her demanded an angry escape. She stood as she always did, straight and taut, her head lifted impatiently. It was the unfeminine pose of an executive. But her naked shoulder betrayed the fragility of the body under the black dress, and the pose made her most truly a woman. The proud strength became a challenge to someone's superior strength, and the fragility a reminder that the challenge could be broken. She was not conscious of it. She had met no one able to see it. He said, looking down at her body, "Dagny, what a magnificent waste!" She had to turn and escape. She felt herself blushing, for the first time in years: blushing because she knew suddenly that the sentence named what she had felt all evening. When Dagny is with Rearden, she releases herself to him in a way. The fur, (she looked like a child, something needing protection) the jewels, (someone to be adorned and admired) and, most importantly, the chain of Rearden Metal. This is perfect because it represents not only the link between the two of them, his possession of her, but Dagny’s deep and fundamental admiration of Hank’s mind. Hank’s (male) equivalent…. I think his equivalent may be that Dagny permits him to be needed without needing him in the moochers’ sense. Hank has parasites hanging off of him at every turn, but in Dagny, he is able to adorn her and protect her and love her and give to her without obligation, but with sheer joy because she is strong and brilliant and self sustaining. There is a quote that applies here, but I must take some more time to think about the male perspective, as it requires more effort. D.G.

I will attempt to reply today, but I want to give it proper time and thought. D.R.

Hello, I find this aspect of her thinking and writing intriguing. I think the chain represents the link and bond between woman and man, mind and body. I think it is a calling card from Dagny asking for a release from her load. I do think she’s on to something when she says the desire to look up to a man, hero-worship, is at the root of femininity. I get that. I am what many have described as a “strong” woman, even a “masculine” woman in my behaviour and delivery. My father, a very large and intelligent man, was/is a very powerful influence on me and my mother was a very accomplished professional. I was raised being told that I could do anything a man could do, except perhaps a front-line combat soldier (that never came up.) I, myself, am successful in a high-stress, male-dominated field. Yet, I always had a “man in my head” whom I admired, even as a little girl. If I didn’t know one, I made one up, and even when I did have a person in mind, I always built on the framework with my own mind. When Rand (a very strong woman with a huge brain) included that same concept or admission in her book, it really floored me because I had never put it into words and realised it. I know that if I weren’t married to a man to whom I looked up to and admired, I would not be happy. I think this is something intrinsic to the sexes…. I wonder what the male equivalent is. To be needed? To be accepted? To sacrifice? Any men want to share thoughts on that? So, while I agree with gender equality, respect and compassion between the sexes, I totally disagree with gender neutrality or androgyny, or “blank slate” theory. This view of the sexes obviously informs her view of the act of sex. She upholds the yearning of women to be “taken” by a worthy man in that sense… yet, it’s still consenting. I totally agree with what Francisco says to Rearden about the act of sex and one’s self-valuation attached to it. On the sex scenes (Sorry for the thread drift) When I first read them, they seemed odd, I didn't get them, but they didn't bother me the way other "forceful" scenes I had read in other books. I had to finish the book and really think about it, and then read it again, and then I REALLY understood and I now think they are powerful, insightful and compelling. I don't really dig the Dominique and Roark scenes, I guess because I don't like the book as much, but they are similar in spirit I suppose. But, I DO get the Dagny/Francisco, Dagny/Reardon scenes in Atlas Shrugged. When you are strong, when you are proud, when you work so hard and you stay so taught and you "hold up the world," psychologically, it feels so good to LET GO, and to let yourself go into the hands of a worthy and skilled person. To be "taken" by a man you admire and respect and exalt because he mirrors what you admire in yourself and what you value in the world, and you know you deserve him. Dagny always "wanted it" from the men of her choice, she just didn't want to "be asked" because that put the responsibility and onus and decision making and burden back on her again.... and in the bedroom, with the man of her choice, she wanted to freedom to be "owned" and to simply receive his passion and skill. I know that at first glance that seems like a contradiction, but with the two specific people considered, (no guilt or inferiority complexes, or games or abuse) with two worthy, intense people who want each other I think it is really….. Something, I don’t know how to describe it that well, but I totally “get it” and I think it’s intense and understandable. D.R.

I think I will enjoy it here. D.R.

Thank you very much. Shortest thread, ever. D.R.

Hello, I am brand new, and I am sorry for the question. Is there a forum dedicated to Atlas Shrugged? Thank you. DagnyRearden.

Hello, This is my first post. I am almost finished this book. Mostly well done and generally even handed. However, I have found a few errors in reference to Atlas Shrugged which bother me... if she is wrong about Dagny Taggart's hair colour, just how closely did she read the novel? Did she skim it to find quotes and carry on with her writing? Troubling. I hope to interview the author soon. DagnyRearden.