Love In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

Love is a theme that is not commonly omitted from a classic piece of literature. Not exclusively the conventional definition of love, as between a person and their significant other, but less obvious types. In Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, love is a distinct and overt theme. However, it varies between different types: conventional love, brotherly love, fatherly love, and love for one’s work. Rand very effectively uses love between man and woman to express her philosophy in this book. Her idea of love and sex is very different than the commonly accepted concept about relationships now. The Ayn Rand Lexicon states, “Romantic love, in the full sense of the term, is an emotion possible only to the man (or woman) of unbreached self-esteem: it is his response to his own highest values in the person of another—an integrated response of mind and body, of

As Catherine Gallagher writes, regarding Hank and Dagny, “They are both driven by their love of work and production, and forced to live among the looters” (Gallagher, “Capitalism”). Dagny is so committed to her work that even after the country’s economy is in decline, she still stays behind to repair Taggart Transcontinental. At the same time, Hank loves his company to the point that he also stays behind for a while before giving up his living in order to maintain its respect and dignity. Love for one’s work also coincides with love for oneself; this is obviously a recurring theme in Rand’s writing. Robert Tracinski writes about the loving relationships in Atlas Shrugged, saying, “They are not based merely on the possession of dollars, no matter how they’re gained, but on a kinship of values among productive people” (Tracinski, “All”). Each hero in Rand’s novel loves their values so strongly that those values are what power their love for other people, as well. This appears to be a common concept with the loving relationships in the