Randy Girls

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Actually there are two misconceptions here:

1. Rand died essentially a failure. She did not. She did carry much bitterness against the world in her heart and she did cut off old friends, but essentially, she was a very fulfilled person. A cantankerous person, but a fully realized one. I don't think she wanted to die, but who does?

2. The Passion of Ayn Rand is the source of the image that Rand had a failed end-of-life. It is not. The actual source of this image is all the hollering from the PARC and ARI camp, saying that PAR projected this image. Here are Barbara's own words about Rand's death. I quote from PAR, pp. 402-403. The first paragraph describes the reaction to Rand's last speech near the end of 1981 in New Orleans for the NCMR (National Committee for Monetary Reform) with the cream of America's industry present. The organizers provided Rand with a private railroad car and a personal chef. The second excerpt describes her actual death and the love with which she was treated by those around her at the end. (It starts with a reaction to a prediction from a person who went to the conference that she would live to be 100.)

The applause was an unending outburst of gratitude and love from members of a group that had never before receive a moral sanction. Ayn stood, thunderstruck, listening to the wild cheering as the audience leaped to its feet. She had not imagined the extent of her power nor expected the tide of passionate admiration that flowed to her from her audience.

. . .

She was not to make it. By the time the train brought Ayn back to New York, not even her excitement over her triumph could continue to feed energy to her body. She was desperately ill. Her face was gashed with new lines, she moved with enormous effort, her voice was raspy, as if not enough breath were being fed to it.

It was soon evident that her path led downhill. From December through January of 1982, she grew weaker and more frail. In February, she was hospitalized with cardiopulmonary problems. Leonard was with her constantly, knowing she had only a short time to live.

Ayn faced death as she had faced life. Death was a fact of reality. Facts had never frightened her; they did not frighten her now. She was scheduled to give her annual Ford Hall Forum talk in April; when she realized it would be impossible, she asked Leonard to give the talk she had prepared. Her work on the teleplay of Atlas was only one-fourth completed; she told Leonard to do whatever was possible to have it finished and produced. She had been planning a new collection of essays, Philosophy: Who Needs It; she had not completed the choice of articles to be included; she asked Leonard to complete it. She specified the arrangements she wished to make for her funeral.

She had often quoted the saying: "It is not I who will die, it is the world that will end." Her world was coming to its end.

Early in March, Ayn said, "I want to go home. I want to die at home." Nothing more could be done for her, and the doctors agreed. She returned, with her nurses, to the apartment where she had lived with Frank. She was not in pain, but she grew progressively weaker as her valiant heart began to fail.

On the evening of March 5, Mimi Sutton telephoned. "The doctor had told me how sick she was, and I wanted to speak to her once more. I don't know if she fully understood, but I said, 'Ayn, I love you.'"

The morning of March 6, the nurse telephoned Leonard to come at once. He arrived moments too late. Ayn Rand was dead.

That does not sound like a person who had screwed up the end of her life. She was still doing professional projects, then making sure they would be completed once her health became too weak to do so herself. Her last professional talk was a triumph. She was surrounded by nurses and she was not in pain. Leonard Peikoff was constantly around her for company (and others from his crowd probably were coming and going). Frank's niece called to tell her she was loved and it is reasonable to assume that many others did that, too. Rand faced death with courage and she died at home.

And it doesn't read at all like Barbara was trashing Rand. Hell, Barbara didn't even trash Peikoff (and she called him "Leonard" in the passage). On the contrary, this excerpt is some very moving writing written with much love for Ayn Rand.

Michael

[Judith]

Actually there are two misconceptions here:

1. Rand died essentially a failure. She did not. She did carry much bitterness against the world in her heart and she did cut off old friends, but essentially, she was a very fulfilled person. A cantankerous person, but a fully realized one. I don't think she wanted to die, but who does?

2. The Passion of Ayn Rand is the source of the image that Rand had a failed end-of-life.

The assessment of "failure" is very subjective, and each person makes it for him/herself.

Personally, I do think her personal life was pretty much of a failure at the end, based on the reported facts. People are free to disagree with my assessment, and I won't argue with them; I'll just point to the reported facts and say that, based on those facts, I consider that at her death her personal life was a failure.

I don't dispute that Barbara's book is a generally positive and generous portrayal of Rand. I think she did a remarkable job of portraying Rand's positive and negative aspects in a way that lets us see the actual woman as she actually lived. The book is a treasure.

And I don't think Rand's life in general was a failure. I think it's a pity for the rest of us that she peaked with "Atlas", because she could have done so much more, and if she hadn't at that point surrounded herself with sycophants she might have done more creatively, but her life as it stands is a remarkable success.

Judith

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Judith,

I completely respect your assessment. Frankly, I find all this to be more a matter of degree than kind. (If you get rid of many of your close friends of years, you are going to be somewhat lonely.) The only reason I am a bit touchy about it is because the hysteria that the PARC crowd stages.

The idea is to take an assessment like yours, blow it up to say that you think Rand had a completely wasted life, then blame PAR for brainwashing you. Or there is the alternative. Simply admit that Rand was never unhappy at all after the break with the Brandens and lived in the land of milk and honey ever since.

I personally think you arrived at your opinion based on your own thinking. Like I did.

Michael

[Judith]

The only reason I am a bit touchy about it is because the hysteria that the PARC crowd stages.

The idea is to take an assessment like yours, blow it up to say that you think Rand had a completely wasted life, then blame PAR for brainwashing you.

Yeah, I kind of figured that. I haven't been watching the doings of that crowd. I barely have time to keep up with this group!

Judith