Dagny
Taggart continues to be an object of my interest with further reading of Atlas Shrugged. She is one powerhouse of
a woman, with her goals set early on and her determination firing at full
speed. At times she is accused of being insensitive, but this is understandable
for a woman who must protect herself in a playing field that she is not welcome
in, and even with these accusations it is proven to us that she is capable of
fear, exhaustion, empathy, lust, and romance. I have to admit I was excited to
read further into Dagny’s past, with great interest in learning how such a
woman came to be, and what her personality-shaping obstacles were. What I came
to find as the most impacting moment in Dagny’s life was a slap to the face by
Francisco d’Anconia, her childhood friend, and presently, her potential ally or
foe in the dog-eat-dog business structure she faces.
Dagny
is smart, and she and the rest of the world know it. Francisco respects her
intelligence, and through it, finds great admiration and interest towards her.
When Dagny asks Francisco a question that seems startlingly out of character
(which she herself acknowledges, and afterwards states it to not have been a
serious question), Francisco cannot help but respond with a slap so firm that
it drew blood. A violent and controversial act at first, but when Dagny
recovers from the blow, her reaction to it brings a new perspective. It is socially
frowned upon for a man to hit a woman, but not when a man hits another man. With
that slap, Francisco shows Dagny that she is his equal, regardless of her sex,
and that she should never underestimate herself or settle for less because she
is expected to be feminine. Dagny is not
incapable of femininity, nor does she reject the fact that she cannot help but
be ladylike and enjoy it, but with this display of equality from a man who
would grow to be her lover and business associate, Dagny was molded to have her
commendably strong personality.
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