Reading Ayn Rand [2022]
I have a strong affinity towards history and historical fiction. literature spanning the horrors of the holocaust to the building and decline of empires to the diktat of Machiavelli have all crossed my bookshelf. Speaking of bookshelves, I tend to stay away from my mother’s. an ardent reader of philosophy, she’ll often explain that my historical passion and her philosophical ones are two sides of the same coin. The one author she tends to keep aside from overlapping interpretations is Ayn Rand. She told me I had to be ready to have a strong reaction and this year during the summer break I decided I was ready.
I chose fountainhead. A pivotal decision. In her 1945 letter to her readers, Ayn rand wrote “Aristotle said that fiction is of greater importance than history, because history represents things only as they are, while fiction represents them as they might be and ought to be.” A heady mix of idealism and arrogance of intellectual conviction, fountainhead tries to be the key to such a method. At the outset, it’s safe to admit, my knowledge of both is nascent, but powerful reactions yearn for expression.
Ayn rand has often professed that one of the objectives of her writing is to define an ideal man.
Fountainhead, Rand’s first literary success, in 1943, is the story of both defeat and triumph. It follows the life of the fictional character Howard Roark, an individualistic young architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision. Roark fights to design modern architecture despite resistance from the traditionally minded architectural establishment.
“What motivates a creative thinker? Is it a selfless desire to benefit mankind? A hunger for fame, fortune, and accolades? The need to prove superiority? Or is it a self-sufficient drive to pursue a creative vision, independent of others’ needs or opinions?”
Ayn Rand addresses these questions through her portrayal of the protagonist whose job it is to debate the theories of altruism, selfishness, and how they steer the course of his life.to me fountainhead could be the first piece of literature that keeps me constantly weighing my own responses. What is the desired place of individual values and to what extent can independent creative projection be needed? is there a tipping point? With most major social movements gathering momentum over the recent past and individualism becoming stronger than traditionalism, in more than enough causes desperately needed, is there still a way to find the line where independent expression will sabotage collective harmony? Is it right to want to be conservative if the self demands it? I’m faced with pressing questions, and I believe reading more of Rand might lead me to better discernment with topics ragingly relevant.
The abhorrent manner of a relationship between the protagonist and Dominique Francon, though understandably symbolic, leaves a vitriolic taste. Moving past this was not an easy task and needed a lot of supplementary reading. Is Dominique Francon misunderstood? I have no answer. I find her idea of the hopelessness of good disconcerting. While she is no doubt, intelligent and devoted to values she can’t tolerate grey in the world. If its not perfect, its malevolent. This pessimistic point of view can throw young people into a dark spiral of despair. The destruction of Roark’s career as she believes, with mercy, quickly and completely, instead of leaving him in the hands of those that don’t revere his work is extreme.
I believe in the space between what we know can be and what will be. That’s where magic lives. Transformation lives. Riding a bike with training wheels on isn’t the real deal, but it’s worth it! I’d rather discover what’s on the other side of the deep dark woods than bunker down to avoid the beasts. Each of us, imperfect as we may be, have gifts that will find the ones that they can be shared with.
Humanity, I love you.
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