I hear people say that women will always look for a better man, and will leave a perfectly fine relationship in order to get with a better man (I think this is false), but this idea lines up with my understanding of why Dagny left Rearden to be with Galt. Maybe I missed a chapter in Atlas, but I can’t figure out why she left Rearden. I am asking this question as a question of female nature. Are women always on the lookout for a better man, and willing to leave to instant a better man is available?
Welcome to OO, Apollo Masters.
In order to grasp why Dagny ultimately chose Galt, it would be useful to understand Rand’s theory of femininity. This essentially falls under the category of psychology, so it isn’t a part of Objectivist philosophy.
Rand wrote an article titled “An Answer to Readers (About a Woman President)” where she explains her views on the subject. The essence of femininity, in her mind, is hero-worship. A properly feminine woman seeks the highest man she can find, so that she can have a concrete manifestation of masculine strength to look up (and submit) to in admiration. In Atlas Shrugged, it’s Galt who possesses the most brilliant mind, as Rearden himself concedes implicitly seeing as how he ultimately lets Dagny go by the time they all reach the valley. Galt and Rearden are moral equals, but Galt is superior in ability.
It should be stated that Dagny is an abnormally intelligent woman, and that we are talking about a work of fiction. Not every single woman will want to pursue a man of Galt’s stature, nor is it proper for every man to pursue a woman such as Dagny (in Atlas, this is illustrated very clearly by the character of Eddie Willers).
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Thank you for your response.
21 minutes ago, RationalEgoist said:
A properly feminine woman seeks the highest man she can find…
This part confuses the absolute hell out of me.
Does this mean that a woman is only with me until or unless she finds someone better?
Is a man’s only hope for a long-term relationship that the woman doesn’t find a better man?
Is a woman supposed to just “monkey-branch” from one man to the next until she finds the best man possible?
If this is properly feminine, then I would say that a properly feminine woman is irrational.
Dagny could have lived an extraordinary life with Rearden, he possesses every trait that she desires in a man, and she has been through so much with him, I don’t see what is rational about monkey-branching over to Galt. Is no man safe unless he is the absolute best?
Do you agree with Rand’s conceptualization of femininity?
2 minutes ago, Apollo Masters said:
Is a man’s only hope for a long-term relationship that the woman doesn’t find a better man?
Is a woman supposed to just “monkey-branch” from one man to the next until she finds the best man possible?
No! It’s funny, Dr. Peikoff answered this exact question on his podcast once, except the questioner asked from the perspective of a man. I wish I had a link, so you could listen for yourself. Perhaps I can dig it up. Anyway, no, that is definitely not how Rand’s conceptualization of femininity is meant to be understood, so don’t worry.
Here is a direct quote from the article I mentioned earlier:
"Hero-worship is a demanding virtue: a woman has to be worthy of it and of the hero she worships. Intellectually and morally, i.e., as a human being, she has to be his equal; then the object of her worship is specifically his masculinity, not any human virtue she might lack.
This does not mean that a feminine woman feels or projects hero-worship for any and every individual man; as human beings, many of them may, in fact, be her inferiors. Her worship is an abstract emotion for the metaphysical concept of masculinity as such—which she experiences fully and concretely only for the man she loves, but which colors her attitude toward all men."
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Thank you for responding again, but your response and Peikoff’s audio doesn’t clear up what is confusing me.
Was Rearden simply not good enough for her? What if she found a man more intelligent than Galt, would she just swing over to the new man?
26 minutes ago, RationalEgoist said:
"Hero-worship is a demanding virtue: a woman has to be worthy of it and of the hero she worships. Intellectually and morally, i.e., as a human being, she has to be his equal; then the object of her worship is specifically his masculinity, not any human virtue she might lack.
And in this quote, when it is said that a woman worships a man’s masculinity, what does this mean? That she worships his competence, or his ability to lead.
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5 minutes ago, Apollo Masters said:
And in this quote, when it is said that a woman worships a man’s masculinity, what does this mean?
The essence of masculinity (“the metaphysical concept of masculinity”) is strength. For her, this had certain implications when it came to the sexual act, in particular. Men are active/dominant while women are passive/submissive. Unfortunately, Rand never said much else on the subject.
What she saw as an ideal man is really for you to come to your own conclusions about through reading and absorbing her fiction. It simply won’t get any more concrete than the art.
I don’t think Dagny’s leaving Rearden for John Galt was about Rearden. It was matching symbolic characteristics of two main characters who shared something in common. Neither Dagny or John felt guilt about who they were and their goals. Only their methods disagreed: John refused to compromise his values, and Dagny soldiered on taking hit after hit to achieve her own goals, not realizing until too late that it was a flawed course of action.
So why didn’t she end up with D’Anconia, who also did not compromise? He gave her up and hurt her by keeping the secret of the strike, so accepted losing her to achieve his goal.
Part of the reason it feels sad that Rearden didn’t end up with Dagny when they had such a romantic, intense love affair is that Rearden is the most realistic of the protagonists. He had flaws, he put up with his family, he stayed married to Lilian far too long, even after he had realized she didn’t love him at all. He allowed himself to be blackmailed and yielded to the looters to give up his intellectual property in Rearden metal. He is given more detail as to personality; he has an artistic side, appreciating fine art pieces and glamorous dress and jewelry for Dagny–clearly a highly sensual person. He is the most real of the three men in Dagny’s life as drawn by the author.
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Let’s remember that Dagny is a fictional character. She left Rearden because Rand wrote it that way, not because of female nature. Dagny might have fictional reasons for leaving, but they’re still fictional. I suggest entering relationships with real women and when they leave you, ask them why. Or just find some real women and ask them why they’ve left boyfriends. I think you’ll find that the specific reasons vary greatly but boil down to a handful of general causes ranging from physical abuse to psychological abuse to simple boredom or desire for a more compatible companion, etc. Real women are individuals with various values to be realized in a man. And sometimes women are looking for a fantasy, like Galt, and are never content with a real man.