Fincannon Daniel PID: 713741573 A Randian Heroine
Ayn Rand has been quoted as saying, "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." In Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged, the author presents Dagny Taggart as the story's heroine. Dagny's character, when matched with the character of John Galt, allow Rand to in a sense personify her philosophy by creating her ideal man and woman. Dagny's physical and mental characteristics, along her perceptions of love and sex, reveal a great deal about Rand's philosophy. Dagny is a strong, intelligent, and capable female who runs a large railroad corporation. She is admired and respected by the people that know and work for her, as well as the other members of the board of her and her brother's corporation. Rand's view of a heroic woman as assertive and achieved goes against the general perception of women at the time Atlas Shrugged was published the late 1950's. However, Dagny, in a sense, embodies what Rand believes to be the ideal woman. Dagny is almost solely concerned with making Taggart Transcontinental the best railroad line in the world - a pursuit that coincides with Rand's feeling that "productive achievement" is mankind's noblest activity. Dagny's pride and loyalty towards her railroad embody Rand's feeling
that mankind should, in it's most perfect state, be a capitalist society of traders, each devoted to his/her own ways of producing goods or services to trade. Dagny's view of sex and love further reveals Ayn Rand's philosophy. Rand views sex as a "physical response to intellectual and spiritual values." What Rand means is that people have sex to give a physical embodiment to things that could otherwise only be felt or internally valued. In Atlas Shrugged, Dagny chooses sexual partners that embody the things she values most. Her sexual encounters with Francisco d'Anconia, Henry Rearden, and John Galt, become increasingly more fulfilling to Dagny as each new lover comes closer and closer to fully personifying her deepest values ending with the story's hero, John Galt. This view of sex is congruent with Rand's philosophy because it turns sex into an act only meant to give happiness to oneself. Love is similar to sex, in Rand's mind (as well as Dagny's), because it still involves continually searching for a partner that represents your highest values. This is best shown by the fact that even though Dagny was in love with Henry Rearden, she allowed herself to fall in love with John Galt, who represented her personal values more closely than Rearden did. While many people see many parts of Rand's philosophy as promoting selfishness, Dagny's character does not seem to show this. While it is true that Dagny seeks her own personal happiness when it comes to matters of sex, love, and personal achievement, she does not try to hinder others' progress towards happiness, nor does she imply that others should value her happiness above own. their These traits may be seen as "unchristian" because they do not value others above the self, but they cannot be
considered selfish. Rand's philosophy places the pursuit of personal happiness above helping other people achieve their own happiness, but does not hinder the others pursuit of their own personal happiness. Selfishness implies that one person seeks to hinder another person's happiness to secure his or her own, but this is not a Randian thought. Charity, another thing praised in the Christian religion, is also looked down upon in the Randian philosophy because it promotes an imbalance between trading parties. In Atlas Shrugged, Dagny becomes romantically involved with Rearden, who is constantly berated by his mother and wife, both of whom are involved in charity work, for his seeming "selfishness." Dagny, who personifies Rand's philosophy, is attracted to that part of Rearden, among other things. Overall, Rand's philosophy as revealed by Dagny is one of fair and mutual trading between persons who are looking after their own individual happiness and fulfillment. Many things about Dagny's character are appealing, one of which is her independence from other people. Dagny true to Randian philosophy does not feel the need to look after the wellbeing of others. She can devote all of her energy to promoting her own happiness and wellbeing and feel no guilt for doing so. Also, Dagny knows that her hard work purposeful and meaningful because personal achievement is her noblest activity, whereas people living under other trains of thought be it Christian or otherwise feel that promoting the wellbeing of their neighbor is the noblest pursuit. Because of this they may not feel as fulfilled by their work as Dagny is by hers. However, there are several things about Dagny and Ayn Rand's philosophy that are not
attractive. The definition of "Love" in Dagny's life is something that many of us do not find as meaningful as the way we define it traditionally. In Dagny's view, you love someone not for their own value, but because they embody your values. Also, it seems like there are times that you would actually want to commit selfless acts (acts of charity for example) for those that you love. These acts are not considered good actions by in Dagny's philosophy, for she only does an action if there it is something that will benefit her. Ultimately, Rand's philosophy like any philosophy has its pros and its cons: by gaining independence from the obligation to value others above your own happiness, you degrade the meaningfulness of the love you have for others. In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand presents Dagny Taggart as the heroine that embodies the ideals of her philosophy. Dagny's mental strength and successfulness, as well as her continual search for a romantic partner that represents her highest values, coincide with the philosophy of Rand a philosophy that places man as a being with "his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."