Sunday, September 22, 2013

Exponential Love, Lust, Failure, and Success


            In my previous blog post, I mentioned the possibility of a symbolic connection between two romances: that of Dagny and Rearden, and the love for their respective passions. With these week’s reading I have confirmed this, and as previously mentioned, I find incredible beauty in it., but now I think there has been a change to this formula, leading me to appreciate Dagny even more. Rearden’s work continues to fail as his love grows, in contrast to Dagny, who although still loves Rearden, has begun to fight back for her one true love- the railroad.
            Rearden proves his love for Dagny multiple times: by standing by her side when Lillian confronts her, by slapping Francisco in demonstration of his domination over her despite Francisco claiming that she is the one woman he will truly love, and ultimately by signing off his railroad to protect her name and their relationship. All of this is admirable, and Dagny understands this, and it may very well be what Dagny needs in her life, despite her ignorance of those needs. After reading that Dagny finally leaves Taggart Continental due to the insanity of the newly enacted equal-opportunity laws and the downward spiral of its economy, I almost decided that both Rearden and Dagny were equal in this case. However, Dagny did not leave her job for Rearden- she left because frankly, there was nothing more for her to do, and it made her sick. Of course, it is not in Dagny’s nature to give up, so how could I assume she would stay silent for good?
            Dagny runs right back to her railroad, despite the issues in legality. This is what I love about Rand’s storytelling, and what I love about Dagny. Rand has Dagny stick to her character traits, and Dagny scrambles to fix the seemingly unfixable problems. Rearden is still in shambles, but Dagny still gets up to fight. What this means for the symbolic balance of their relationships at this point is what makes me eager for more. 

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