The Soft Side Of Dagny
At 15512 on Kindle:
"A young woman lay stretched on the sun-flooded planks, watching a battery of fishing rods. She glanced up at the sound of the car, then leaped to her feet in a single swift movement, a shade too swift, and ran to the road. She wore slacks, rolled above the knees of her bare leg, she had dark, disheveled hair and large eyes.
"Hello, John! When did you get in?" she called.
"This morning," he answered, smiling and driving on.
Dagny jerked her head to look back and saw the glance with which the young woman stood looking after Galt. And even though hopelessness, serenely accepted, was part of the worship in that glance, she experienced a feeling she had never known before: a stab of jealousy.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"Our best fishwife. she provides the fish for Hammond's grocery market."
"What else is she?"
"You've noticed that there's a 'what else' for every one of us here? she's a writer. The kind of writer who wouldn't be published outside. She believes that when one deals with words, one deals with the mind."
I credit rockymountainpirate for reminding me of this scene in AS. This is a rare glimpse of Dagny examining her emotions and empathizing with another. A poignant, human understanding and connection with romantic love. For the young girl, it goes unrequited-but Dagny feels a stab of jealousy regardless. I thought it would be fun to explore that scene a little and Dagny's first experience with jealousy. Is the scene used to foreshadow that her feelings for Hank will not be what she will experience falling in love with Galt? Is the scene actually to demonstrate the softer side of Dagny? Dagny the woman-not Dagny the railroad industrialist. Any thoughts?
As an aside: I read that this scene was in part a Hitchcock-esque cameo for Rand. If so, how interesting that the young writer is almost portrayed as Galt keeping her "innocent and pure" in the Gulch. As we know, that writer would be published "out there" and achieve the prominence of one the most important thinkers of the 20th century.
"A young woman lay stretched on the sun-flooded planks, watching a battery of fishing rods. She glanced up at the sound of the car, then leaped to her feet in a single swift movement, a shade too swift, and ran to the road. She wore slacks, rolled above the knees of her bare leg, she had dark, disheveled hair and large eyes.
"Hello, John! When did you get in?" she called.
"This morning," he answered, smiling and driving on.
Dagny jerked her head to look back and saw the glance with which the young woman stood looking after Galt. And even though hopelessness, serenely accepted, was part of the worship in that glance, she experienced a feeling she had never known before: a stab of jealousy.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"Our best fishwife. she provides the fish for Hammond's grocery market."
"What else is she?"
"You've noticed that there's a 'what else' for every one of us here? she's a writer. The kind of writer who wouldn't be published outside. She believes that when one deals with words, one deals with the mind."
I credit rockymountainpirate for reminding me of this scene in AS. This is a rare glimpse of Dagny examining her emotions and empathizing with another. A poignant, human understanding and connection with romantic love. For the young girl, it goes unrequited-but Dagny feels a stab of jealousy regardless. I thought it would be fun to explore that scene a little and Dagny's first experience with jealousy. Is the scene used to foreshadow that her feelings for Hank will not be what she will experience falling in love with Galt? Is the scene actually to demonstrate the softer side of Dagny? Dagny the woman-not Dagny the railroad industrialist. Any thoughts?
As an aside: I read that this scene was in part a Hitchcock-esque cameo for Rand. If so, how interesting that the young writer is almost portrayed as Galt keeping her "innocent and pure" in the Gulch. As we know, that writer would be published "out there" and achieve the prominence of one the most important thinkers of the 20th century.
