The finish line is in sight, people, I am not far from the end now. I decided not to finish the book not out of laziness or lack of motivation, but because if I did then I would feel compelled to write about the ending here, and I have something I want to write about. I have mentioned this before, not often but a few times, but now I think I have a coherent argument in my head. Ayn Rand is not devoid of emotion, but she has created a universe that is, or rather one where those with emotions are essentially useless imbeciles. Why, then, is it okay for Dagny to fall in love with any objectivist with a penis? Now there have been a few attempted justifications such as paragraphs of "I love you the way I love math and chemistry and the scientific method," and references to love as an animal desire for sex. By the way, Rand sometimes talks about love and sex as two separate things but she also sometimes makes them sound like the same thing, so I think her definition of each is based on how horny she is at the time. To further digress into rambling insanity, Ayn Rand had fierce sexual desires when she was alive, so hopefully that should explain why Dagny refuses to keep it in her pants, so to speak. It also explains why as the book goes on (and presumably Rand gets fatigued because halfway through the book she has written a lengthy epic) she slowly shows an inability to make scenes with Dagny non-sexual/romantic. Past page 600 or so, every scene with Dagny will eventually mention some sort of sexual desire or romantic feeling (which eventually turns into a sexual desire) for anybody on the "respectable businessman who I have spoken more than six words to" list. This would all be fine if Dagny just dealt with it like she would have in Part I, just allowing it to be a part of her and not let it take over. Unfortunately, as this increases, Dagny increasingly becomes less and less like the female objectivist we were originally introduced to. The more she thinks about sex the less strong and independent she seems, and its also true for Hank and Francisco. When Francisco shows up in Galt's Gulch (which is an awesome name, by the way) I expected to see his place there right away, I mean we all knew he belonged there but I wanted to see him immediately fit in and be a part of this place we have just dropped in to. Instead, he expresses all these non-mathematical feelings for Dagny, an essentially spouts Rand's view on objectivist romance (a view expressed many times by many different characters with many different points and each time it sounds a little different) and I personally saw him as a weaker character because of it. After this, Rand has to spend a few pages putting Francisco in place here so we know that he is a part of the community, but I think that should have been shown on the first page. As for Hank, how about that scene after Dagny masterfully gives the entire political/social system the finger on live television? Hank could have said so much there, but Rand had constructed this buildup to their romantic relationship and upcoming confrontation that essentially made that moment all about a plot point that should not be there. Allow me to justify: As I have said before, Rand created some awesome characters, but she did so in a way that we do not really consider their romantic lives when thinking about them. About a quarter through the book (probably more) Rand suddenly introduces romance into the mix like it is a totally normal thing. A decision had to be made when making these characters, a decision Rand made but did not commit to. It is stated quite a few times that Dagny did not have time or patience to feel, but did she love Francisco? The two are parallel, in that they exist on different divergences that should never meet.
Now if I may use that earlier scene after Dagny gives that awesome speech, the scene with her and Hank, once more to drive a point home. Dagny sees something in Hank's face that she reads as him having enough strength to protect them both. Page 783 "...he would now be the one to give her support and consolation, his would be the strength to protect them both.". Why? Why does she need protection? Why does she need support and consolation? What changed at the core of Dagny's character that she now needs Hank in this way? I thought she was better than that- I thought Dagny didn't need anybody- I thought Dagny was an objectivist.
I have a lot more to say on this, and I wish I could improve my argument a bit more but unfortunately it is now nearly 8 PM, and I have to send in the link. I do have one last thing to say: This ending better be fucking spectacular for all the reading I've done.
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