Gone With The Wind and Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead Characters

[psychoanaleesis]

Last night was my first to watch Gone with the Wind and I could have loved it except that it was a tragedy. The characters started out with fatal flaws set by the author (except for Rhett Butler - he was a story or universe of his own). I'm still searching for the precise concept to integrate what I witnessed but the whole movie was great awesome! Superb acting, great casting, the characterization was very vivid yet the ending left a very rough texture in my mind. It is like the conflict was not resolved (my girl told me that there was another novel following this where Scarlett and Rhett got back together -wonder where I can find it locally?)

Apart from the above, I'm very happy that I saw the movie and look forward to having it in my movie library someday along with the likes of Iron Man, the Hannibal series and a few more (I enjoy books better so - meh).

What I wanted to talk about here were the similarities of Rand's characters from AS and the Fountainhead to the characters in GWTW. My eyes became as wide as saucers especially in the scene where Scarlett visited Rhett in the Union prison to ask for $300 for tax. My god! It's Dagny asking Fransisco money for the John Galt line!!!

The main difference that I witnessed between Rand and Mitchell's was that though the characters was that though equally vivid, their metaphysics were complete opposites. Rand produced heroes who were fully integrated or had little flaws while Mitchell's heroes gave me the feeling of looking at a cracked mirror especially with Scarlett.

Here is a list of equivalent characters I saw and a brief description as to why I think so.

Scarlett O'Hara = Dagny Taggart/ Dominique Francon - both had no primary "sense of guilt" but an overflowing "passion for life", intelligent, independent and both know how to run businesses. They were rather controlling too I suppose hat's what Rand was talking about when she said Dagny had too much optimism that she wished to extend it to others albeit Scarlett shows it in a bit immature way (and this is how Dominique comes in).

Rhett Butler = Francisco D'Anconia/ Gail Wynand - do I really have to explain this? Why, by just the way Clark Gable looks and his ability to change expression dramatically... that's how I always imagined Francisco would look like. Also, he understood everything that is to be understood about the story. He's trying to fight the flaws of the other characters and the story from the inside but knows the implication of his every action. He already advanced but not far detached (unlike Galt who watched from a distance until very later on in the novel). He's ruthless disciplined and would not hesitate to defend his philosophy even if it meant killing the very woman he loved.

Ashley Wilkes = Hank Rearden - They are both Men of their words. They uphold honor even though both do not know/refused to know its root (at least at first for Rearden).

Mammy/Big Sam = Eddie Willers - well intentioned help or advisers of the heroes.

Melanie Hamilton = Katie Halsey - as Rhett described her, she had "no life of her own, only heart."

I still think there are more but please feel free to comment if I overlooked major ones.

Thanks in advance.

[Selene]

David:

I have to say, I would never have thought of comparing Gone With The Wind with Rand, but you do make some interesting connections.

I have to get over my distaste for the movie before I can truly appreciate your points.

here is the sequel named SCARLETT

Adam

[caroljane]

Last night was my first to watch Gone with the Wind and I could have loved it except that it was a tragedy. The characters started out with fatal flaws set by the author (except for Rhett Butler - he was a story or universe of his own). I'm still searching for the precise concept to integrate what I witnessed but the whole movie was great awesome! Superb acting, great casting, the characterization was very vivid yet the ending left a very rough texture in my mind. It is like the conflict was not resolved (my girl told me that there was another novel following this where Scarlett and Rhett got back together -wonder where I can find it locally?)

Apart from the above, I'm very happy that I saw the movie and look forward to having it in my movie library someday along with the likes of Iron Man, the Hannibal series and a few more (I enjoy books better so - meh).

What I wanted to talk about here were the similarities of Rand's characters from AS and the Fountainhead to the characters in GWTW. My eyes became as wide as saucers especially in the scene where Scarlett visited Rhett in the Union prison to ask for $300 for tax. My god! It's Dagny asking Fransisco money for the John Galt line!!!

The main difference that I witnessed between Rand and Mitchell's was that though the characters was that though equally vivid, their metaphysics were complete opposites. Rand produced heroes who were fully integrated or had little flaws while Mitchell's heroes gave me the feeling of looking at a cracked mirror especially with Scarlett.

Here is a list of equivalent characters I saw and a brief description as to why I think so.

Scarlett O'Hara = Dagny Taggart/ Dominique Francon - both had no primary "sense of guilt" but an overflowing "passion for life", intelligent, independent and both know how to run businesses. They were rather controlling too I suppose hat's what Rand was talking about when she said Dagny had too much optimism that she wished to extend it to others albeit Scarlett shows it in a bit immature way (and this is how Dominique comes in).

Rhett Butler = Francisco D'Anconia/ Gail Wynand - do I really have to explain this? Why, by just the way Clark Gable looks and his ability to change expression dramatically... that's how I always imagined Francisco would look like. Also, he understood everything that is to be understood about the story. He's trying to fight the flaws of the other characters and the story from the inside but knows the implication of his every action. He already advanced but not far detached (unlike Galt who watched from a distance until very later on in the novel). He's ruthless disciplined and would not hesitate to defend his philosophy even if it meant killing the very woman he loved.

Ashley Wilkes = Hank Rearden - They are both Men of their words. They uphold honor even though both do not know/refused to know its root (at least at first for Rearden).

Mammy/Big Sam = Eddie Willers - well intentioned help or advisers of the heroes.

Melanie Hamilton = Katie Halsey - as Rhett described her, she had "no life of her own, only heart."

I still think there are more but please feel free to comment if I overlooked major ones.

Thanks in advance.

There is also the "rape scene" which chacterized both Mitchell and Rand as "romantic" novelists.

[psychoanaleesis]

David:

I have to say, I would never have thought of comparing Gone With The Wind with Rand, but you do make some interesting connections.

I have to get over my distaste for the movie before I can truly appreciate your points.

here is the sequel named SCARLETT

Adam

Oh , yeah, about that... I don't want to read it anymore since it's written by another. I kinda wanted for the author to apologize to the ideal characters she has betrayed. Oh, another interesting note, GWTW is flawed in the way it homes in on the Naturalistic side of things e.g. domestication of characters and I think this is the poison that the author perpetrated that even the most amazing of characters Rhett, could never have successfully defeated. This became most apparent when he told Scarlett on the way back to Tara that he decided to join the cause of the Confederacy. I'm thinking along the line of BS. Like, it was forced by the author. If only things went more to the Romantic side of it, I could've called it "Romantic realism" where Rhett and Scarlett would be happy and have more kids and all.

the quote that I heard before that stuck and attracted me to this movie was "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" which I thought spoke of defiance to the fact that Scarlett has been unfaithful to persons (but not ideals) around the first couple of hours - until the very last scene since. When I understood the full context, my mind was already screaming a resounding NO! and tears started to well up in grief of this catastrophic tragedy of the human spirit.

You're right, the story is distasteful but the acting was amazing. If only Atlas Shrug would be produced like this.

daunce:

What rape scene? Who raped who?

[syrakusos]

What rape scene? Who raped who?

Whom. Were you in the kitchen when Rhett carried Scarlett upstairs and she was beating his chest and then the scene is the next morning with the same staircase and we hear her singing.

Atlas and GWTW are similar because of the time and place of the authors. Ayn Rand was very much a Hollywood writer. Atlas Shrugged is really a movie in the form of a book.

The characters of both are not really "naturalistic" portrayals from the 1860s, but projections from the 1940s. Remakes of Pride and Prejudice similarly project the people of their own time. The girls of the 1940s are more like the women in GWTW. I am not sure how Jane Austen herself would relate to Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett, but I think that she captured the person of the 1840s better than did Greer Garson.

As a film, GWTW was an achievement seldom matched only (I say "only" but it is a big "only") because of the relative investment in money and talent. Both have gotten cheaper.

[psychoanaleesis]

What rape scene? Who raped who?

Whom. Were you in the kitchen when Rhett carried Scarlett upstairs and she was beating his chest and then the scene is the next morning with the same staircase and we hear her singing.

Atlas and GWTW are similar because of the time and place of the authors. Ayn Rand was very much a Hollywood writer. Atlas Shrugged is really a movie in the form of a book.

The characters of both are not really "naturalistic" portrayals from the 1860s, but projections from the 1940s. Remakes of Pride and Prejudice similarly project the people of their own time. The girls of the 1940s are more like the women in GWTW. I am not sure how Jane Austen herself would relate to Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett, but I think that she captured the person of the 1840s better than did Greer Garson.

As a film, GWTW was an achievement seldom matched only (I say "only" but it is a big "only") because of the relative investment in money and talent. Both have gotten cheaper.

Whoops. Right and right you are. Thanks. However, both did not register as "rape" to me. Just serious, passionate love making. hmmm...

projections from the 1940s? Is that so? I'd get back to you on that Michael. Thanks again.

Yeah, and the investment was worth the while for everyone.

[9thdoctor]

Whoops. Right and right you are. Thanks. However, both did not register as "rape" to me. Just serious, passionate love making. hmmm...

It was as rough as they could make it back then. BTW, the book is fantastic, and it's different enough from the movie to be worth the time.

[Xray]

Last night was my first to watch Gone with the Wind and I could have loved it except that it was a tragedy. The characters started out with fatal flaws set by the author (except for Rhett Butler - he was a story or universe of his own). I'm still searching for the precise concept to integrate what I witnessed but the whole movie was great awesome! Superb acting, great casting, the characterization was very vivid yet the ending left a very rough texture in my mind.

GWTW is an absolute masterpiece.

I vividly recall agonizing over the end when watching the movie for the first time in at the age of fourteen. Why oh why can' those two get together again, I thought.

I even recall having a veritable grudge against Rhett for leaving Scarlett although she was such a mean piece of work. But I thought that she - finally! - had started returning his love, but now it was all too late. I cried rivers!

Today I'm not nearly as certain as back then in terms of Scarlett's sincere feelings toward Rhett in the end. What do you and the other posters think?

I have read the book too but don't remember much about it.

What rape scene? Who raped who?

Whom. Were you in the kitchen when Rhett carried Scarlett upstairs and she was beating his chest and then the scene is the next morning with the same staircase and we hear her singing.

Whoops. Right and right you are. Thanks. However, both did not register as "rape" to me. Just serious, passionate love making. hmmm...

The GWTW scene didn't register as rape to me either. Compare it to the rape scene in The Fountainhead where Roark physically attacks Dominique. Imo this kind of sexual assault scene could also figure in a crime story where the victim is then killed, and frankly, if I hadn't known Roark was the 'hero', I would have feared the worst for Dominique when reading this scene.

In GWTW, while there is resistance on Scarlett's part, I did not associate the scene and what followed in the bedroom (not shown of course in 1939) with her being physically injured by Rhett. Rhett also lacks Roark's coldness and brutality.

Rather, I associated passionate lovemaking where for the first time Scarlett experienced sexual fulfillment.

Rhett also has the "excuse" of having been drunk (Scarlett has ingested liquor as well, if I recall correctly; it's been a while since I last saw GWTW).

Edited May 15, 2011 by Xray

[9thdoctor]

Th GWTW scene didn't register as rape to me either. Compare it to the rape scene in The Fountainhead where Roark physically attacks Dominique.

Are you comparing book to book, or movie to book? Get a load of this:

She ran swiftly into the dark hall, fleeing as though demons were upon her. Oh, if she could only reach her room! She turned her ankle and the slipper fell half off. As she stopped to kick it loose frantically, Rhett, running lightly as an Indian was beside her in the dark. His breath was hot on her face and his hands went round her roughly, under the wrapper, against her bare skin.

“You turned me out on the town while you chased him. By God, this is one night when there are only going to be two in my bed.”

He swung her off her feet into his arms and started up the stairs. Her head was crushed against his chest and she heard the hard hammering of his heart beneath her ears. He hurt her and she cried out, muffled, frightened. Up the stairs, he went in the utter darkness, up, up, and she was wild with fear. He was a mad stranger and this was a black darkness she did not know, darker than death. He was like death, carrying her away in arms that hurt. She screamed, stifled against him and he stopped suddenly on the landing and, turning her swiftly in his arms, bent over her and kissed her with a savagery and a completeness that wiped out everything from her mind but the dark into which she was sinking and the lips on hers. He was shaking, as though he stood in a strong wind, and his lips, traveling from her mouth downward to where the wrapper had fallen from her body, fell on her soft flesh. He was muttering things she did not hear, his lips were evoking feelings never felt before. She was darkness and he was darkness and there had never been anything before this time, only darkness and his lips upon her. She tried to speak and his mouth was over hers again. Suddenly she had a wild thrill such as she had never known; joy, fear, madness, excitement, surrender to arms that were too strong, lips too bruising, fate that moved too fast. For the first time in her life she had met someone, something stronger than she, someone she could neither bully nor break, someone who was bullying and breaking her. Somehow, her arms were around his neck and her lips trembling beneath his and they were going up, up into the darkness again, a darkness that was soft and swirling and all enveloping.

When she awoke the next morning…

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, Chapter 54 (pp 939-940 of 1037)

[Brant Gaede]

What rape scene? Who raped who?

Whom. Were you in the kitchen when Rhett carried Scarlett upstairs and she was beating his chest and then the scene is the next morning with the same staircase and we hear her singing.

Whoops. Right and right you are. Thanks. However, both did not register as "rape" to me. Just serious, passionate love making. hmmm...

Th GWTW scene didn't register as rape to me either. Compare it to the rape scene in The Fountainhead where Roark physically attacks Dominique. Imo this kind of sexual assault scene could also figure in a crime story where the victim is then killed, and frankly, if I hadn't known Roark was the 'hero', I would have feared the worst for Dominique when reading this scene.

In GWTW, while there is resistance on Scarlett's part, I did not associate the scene and what followed in the bedroom (not shown of course in 1939) with her being physically injured by Rhett. Rhett also lacks Roark's coldness and brutality.

Rather, I associated passionate lovemaking where for the first time Scarlett experienced sexual fulfillment.

Rhett also has the "excuse" of having been drunk (Scarlett has ingested liquor as well, if I recall correctly; it's been a while since I last saw GWTW).

If you had read the novel up to that point you wouldn't have feared for Dominique in respect to Roark in the least. It was two powerful people getting what they wanted. Dominique had to resist to the point of knowing for sure just how powerful Roark was. There are all sorts of problems with the scene, however, but they grow right out of the character depictions. Rand said Dominique could be "stupid." Dominique was actually nuts. Part of the cure for that was the "rape." In real life with real people such "rape" might drive a Dominique completely into psychological oblivion, like the daughter-character in Death Wish. Rape as therapy is gasoline on a fire.

And as I said before, how Dominique behaved after her encounter with Roark was similar to an actual rape victim. That type of sex doesn't even knock on the door of the best type of sex. It fits in well, though, with the tenor of the novel and you can't change much without destroying the edifice. I think it helps to think of The Fountainhead in surrealistic terms. The same for her magnum opus. I think her surrealism--and what was represented by that--is the beating heart of Rand's literary success. They are too much of being different worlds of people and things than the one we live in.

--Brant

[Xray]

Rhett Butler = Francisco D'Anconia/ Gail Wynand - do I really have to explain this? Why, by just the way Clark Gable looks and his ability to change expression dramatically... that's how I always imagined Francisco would look like. Also, he understood everything that is to be understood about the story. He's trying to fight the flaws of the other characters and the story from the inside but knows the implication of his every action.

I don't have the impression Rhett Butler was trying to fight others' flaws. Imo he arranged himself quite well with the reality around him, trying to use it to his advantage.

Also, unlike D'Anconia, Rhett was far from being sexually abstinent.

Whereas D'Anconia, during all these years merely 'acted' the playboy but had no sexual relations during this time to any other woman than Dagny. Not to speak of Galt, who it seems had no sexual relations at all before encountering Dagny whom he 'observed' for many years.

Rearden is not that different from the other two either. Lilian does not really count.

I ask myself what Readen and D'Anconia are going to do after 'rationally' accepting that the alpha male Galt gets the love of their lives Dagny in the end.

As opposed to GWTW, many things in TF and AS are very unrealistic.

He's ruthless disciplined and would not hesitate to defend his philosophy even if it meant killing the very woman he loved.

Where do you get the idea that Rhett Butler "would not hesitate to defend his philosophy even if it meant killing the very woman he loved." (?)

Edited May 15, 2011 by Xray

[Xray]

Th GWTW scene didn't register as rape to me either. Compare it to the rape scene in The Fountainhead where Roark physically attacks Dominique.

Are you comparing book to book, or movie to book?

Movie GWTW to book TF.

Get a load of this:

She ran swiftly into the dark hall ...

This is good deal tougher than the film version of course. I have read the book as well (in the German translation), but don't remember much about it. I read it after having watched the movie several times, and it looks like it was the movie version of the scene, and not how it is described in the book which got stuck in my mind.

I recall being annoyed about Scarlett being called "not beautiful" in the book, because I had the picture of the strikingly beautiful Vivien Leigh playing Scarlett in mind.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Xray

[Peter]

David Lee wrote:

Rhett Butler = Francisco D'Anconia/ Gail Wynand - do I really have to explain this? Why, by just the way Clark Gable looks and his ability to change expression dramatically... that's how I always imagined Francisco would look like. Also, he understood everything that is to be understood about the story. He's trying to fight the flaws of the other characters and the story from the inside but knows the implication of his every action.

End quote

Very insightful David. Now that you mention it I do see a similarity between Gail Wynand and Rhett Butler.

No other screen character has gained my trust and respect like Rhett Butler. However, I would say Rhett Butler is most like a combination of Francisco and John Galt with a twist of Machiavellian sour lemon wedged uncertainty. I think Rhett would do the heroic thing but there is a slight chance he might not always do “the right thing,” which makes him dangerous, whereas Francisco and John Galt are completely dependable, and people who I would trust my life to.

Still Rhett Butler, with his flaws, is a very realistic “good guy.”

Peter Taylor

[BaalChatzaf]

Words I never read in -Atlas Shrugged-: Frankly Dagny, I don't give a f*ck.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Synthia]

What I wanted to talk about here were the similarities of Rand's characters from AS and the Fountainhead to the characters in GWTW.

How odd that you would post this thread. A day before you posted there appeared a blog post on Daughter of Ayn (http://daughterofayn.com/ayn-would-have-loved-scarlet-ohara/) which suggests similarities. Before that, I had never read ANY comparisons of Gone With the Wind to Ayn Rand. That post, at the bottom, also notes the rape and roughness similarities. It also compares Rhett to Wynand and Scarlett to Ayn's heroines.

How odd that two people would consider this within a day of one another.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Synthia

[9thdoctor]

A day before you posted there appeared a blog post on Daughter of Ayn (http://daughterofayn.com/ayn-would-have-loved-scarlet-ohara/) which suggests similarities.

Welcome to OL. Is this site you linked to your site? I just gave it a once over and the author doesn't introduce herself.

[psychoanaleesis]

Where do you get the idea that Rhett Butler "would not hesitate to defend his philosophy even if it meant killing the very woman he loved." (?)

Well, you said it yourself, Rhett takes advantage of his surroundings. I quote you, "he arranged himself quite well with the reality around him, trying to use it to his advantage." He's a guy who knows what he wants and gets what he wants. In this aspect, he's more like Gail Wynand. I remember in TF, what he said to Dominique in the hospital, if he ever found out that her and Roark were having an affair, he would strangle(?) them both. This is the same selfish passion and sense of ownership, complete ownership that is his philosophy. Essentially, the "world" is his for the taking.

[psychoanaleesis]

Are you comparing book to book, or movie to book? Get a load of this:

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, Chapter 54 (pp 939-940 of 1037)

Aw hell! if Rand wrote that, that would be a serious error in her metaphysical projections. I was comparing TF book with GWTW movie. In the TF movie though, the acting was stiff and I saw fear in Dominique rather passion. NOT how it was presented and I visualized it in the book.

Edited May 16, 2011 by David Lee

[psychoanaleesis]

Words I never read in -Atlas Shrugged-: Frankly Dagny, I don't give a f*ck.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Given the right circumstances, Roark would have said it.

Something like:

Dominique: ...but Howard, they'd murder you out there!

Roark: Frankly Dom, I don't give a f**k.

But I've no right speaking for Rand's character.

Edited May 16, 2011 by David Lee

[psychoanaleesis]

I don't have the impression Rhett Butler was trying to fight others' flaws. Imo he arranged himself quite well with the reality around him, trying to use it to his advantage.

Also, unlike D'Anconia, Rhett was far from being sexually abstinent.

Whereas D'Anconia, during all these years merely 'acted' the playboy but had no sexual relations during this time to any other woman than Dagny. Not to speak of Galt, who it seems had no sexual relations at all before encountering Dagny whom he 'observed' for many years.

Rearden is not that different from the other two either. Lilian does not really count.

I ask myself what Readen and D'Anconia are going to do after 'rationally' accepting that the alpha male Galt gets the love of their lives Dagny in the end.

As opposed to GWTW, many things in TF and AS are very unrealistic.

I got it by the way he talks to Scarlett, revealing her true self like a full body mirror or an Xray film of her perhaps? You're kinda right in that comment about Francisco, if you heard about those undercover stories, agents really had to get their hands very dirty (like agents who try crack to gain the trust of the bad guys) but still, I think Francisco could have afforded to avoid those by creating a very effective smokescreen e.g. extravagant parties, rumors that he let circulate, etcetera.

Well, for one thing, Francisco, Galt and the other heroes have one thing in common, whether they died eventually or succeeded: Resolve. They stuck to their philosophy and never compromised their values.

For GWTW, I don't hate the characters per se, I hate the author for impeding their "growth" (at least in the movie).

[psychoanaleesis]

What I wanted to talk about here were the similarities of Rand's characters from AS and the Fountainhead to the characters in GWTW.

How odd that you would post this thread. A day before you posted there appeared a blog post on Daughter of Ayn (http://daughterofayn.com/ayn-would-have-loved-scarlet-ohara/) which suggests similarities. Before that, I had never read ANY comparisons of Gone With the Wind to Ayn Rand. That post, at the bottom, also notes the rape and roughness similarities. It also compares Rhett to Wynand and Scarlett to Ayn's heroines.

How odd that two people would consider this within a day of one another.

Hmmm, sure, that's quite a coincidence.

[psychoanaleesis]

David Lee wrote:

Rhett Butler = Francisco D'Anconia/ Gail Wynand - do I really have to explain this? Why, by just the way Clark Gable looks and his ability to change expression dramatically... that's how I always imagined Francisco would look like. Also, he understood everything that is to be understood about the story. He's trying to fight the flaws of the other characters and the story from the inside but knows the implication of his every action.

End quote

Very insightful David. Now that you mention it I do see a similarity between Gail Wynand and Rhett Butler.

No other screen character has gained my trust and respect like Rhett Butler. However, I would say Rhett Butler is most like a combination of Francisco and John Galt with a twist of Machiavellian sour lemon wedged uncertainty. I think Rhett would do the heroic thing but there is a slight chance he might not always do “the right thing,” which makes him dangerous, whereas Francisco and John Galt are completely dependable, and people who I would trust my life to.

Still Rhett Butler, with his flaws, is a very realistic “good guy.”

Peter Taylor

Yup. Rhett's a bit more closer and attainable for those who lack the philosophical vocabulary and clarity of Rand.

[9thdoctor]

Are you comparing book to book, or movie to book? Get a load of this:

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, Chapter 54 (pp 939-940 of 1037)

Aw hell! if Rand wrote that, that would be a serious error in her metaphysical projections.

I don’t know why you say that. It’s pretty similar to a Rand sex scene, and the female psychology is, well, what’s different about it? You tell me. The main difference I see is that Scarlett has had earlier, unsatisfying sexual experiences before this, with men she was able to dominate. Kind of like Dominique with Peter Keating, but for Scarlett this comes as a revelation.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Synthia,

Since we have had a problem here on OL in the past with a massive plagiarist, I thought it a good idea to look at this. So I carefully read the post at the Daughter of Ayn blog and I carefully read David's post above.

Both are unique enough to register as a coincidence to me.

And even if it were not a coincidence, there's nothing wrong with surfing the Internet, see an angle on something you find interesting and decide to write about it. That is so long as you present your own thoughts. (I'm not saying David came up with the topic that way--only that it doesn't matter to me if he did.)

You don't have to search all over the place to see who came first and so forth if you find something interesting to write about and have your own voice. A case could be made against this if one post were a paraphrase of the other, but David's is way different than the one on Daughter of Ayn.

Here's a thought, though. If you are the owner of Daughter of Ayn, you have my express invitation to promote your blog here to the OL audience. If you are not the owner, why not contact her and point her to this thread? It's a good bet she would be interested.

Daughter of Ayn is a young blog, but the owner looks like a good intelligent person of independent thought from what I read. I think such people are really cool.

Michael

[Reidy]

Rand in fact did admire the novel and said so in one of her 60s essays, anthologized in The Romantic Manifesto.