In this weeks reading of Atlas Shrugged we
learn a great amount about Francisco d’Anconia. Francisco is a character who
carries loads of mystery behind him, which is something that instantly
intrigued me and led him to become an object of interest to me. We learn of his
complicated nature in The
Climax of the D’Anconias, where Rand reveals the history of the friendship
between Dagny and Franscisco. In the beginning of the chapter we learn of
Francisco when Eddie shows a reluctant Dagny the newspaper that announced the
worthless mines in Mexico which Francisco invested in. Dagny is taken aback by
the news claiming, “Francisco is not a fool. Whatever else he may be, no matter
what depravity he’s sunk to…he’s not a fool.” (88) From what we learn later on
in Chapter 5, Francisco is beyond a doubt an intellectual businessman, who
played an integral role in shaping Dagny to be the strong and independent
businesswoman that she is today. When reading that Francisco spent millions on
worthless mines in Mexico I was just as shocked as Dagny was. Throughout the
chapter he made it evident that he is someone who took his future in his
families business very seriously, I was confused on how this possibly could
have occurred. When Francisco ended the relationship he said “…don’t be
astonished by anything I do or by anything I may ever do in the future.” (110),
and he goes on struggling to not share what his plan is in fear that she will
attempt to stop him. After reading the following passages I began to think that
possibly he was hinting to this scenario. When Dagny now confronts him about
the scenario, Francisco remains as mysterious as ever, never revealing the
motives for his actions claiming she was not ready or courageous enough to hear
it yet. When reading these passages I was left extremely frustrated with
Francisco, because as I said he is extremely intelligent and would not do
something like this without a logical motive.
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