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THE EDUCATION OF AYN RAND, 1905–1943
intellectual orientation toward Nietzsche and her deep-seated elitism.
But in execution the novel bore the marks of what had happened since.
The remaining two-thirds of the book, written in a tremendous yearlong
spurt of creativity, layered the themes of the “Manifesto” over the
structure Rand had devised years earlier. The result showed Rand the
writer at the height of her powers, even as Rand the thinker continued
to emerge.
Since the expiration of her fi rst contract in late 1940, few other publishers
exhibited interest in Rand’s unfi nished manuscript. Her agent,
Anne Watkins, racked up eight rejections in about as many months.
The best she could do was help Rand secure an hourly position as a
reader for Paramount Pictures, a job she started in the spring of 1941,
just as her efforts with Pollock got under way. The string of rejections
strained relations between agent and author. Watkins’s interest in the
book wavered, and she began to criticize Rand’s writing. Rand gave no
quarter, and the two argued unproductively over why the manuscript
wasn’t selling. The breaking point came just after Rand fi nished her
“Manifesto.” After another discussion of her novel, Watkins told Rand,
“You always ask for reasons. I can’t always give reasons. I just go by
feelings.” The statement came as a “traumatic shock” to Rand. To her it
was a shameful confession of personal and intellectual inadequacy. She
could tolerate criticism of her book that was carefully and consciously
justifi ed, but to be attacked on the basis of unspecifi ed feelings galled
her. Watkins’s confession also destroyed any possibility of an ongoing
professional relationship. Rand told her as much in a long philosophical
letter announcing that she no longer wanted Watkins to represent
her work. 3
Rand’s new boss at Paramount Pictures, Richard Mealand, was dismayed
by the turn of events. He loved the parts of the novel he had read,
and Rand immediately became one of his favorite employees. She was
also beloved by her supervisor, Frances Hazlitt, who was an outspoken
conservative. Frances was married to Henry Hazlitt, a journalist who
would later become known in libertarian circles for his Economics in
One Lesson. Together Hazlitt and Mealand gave Rand the pick of incoming
stories and championed her writing career. When Mealand learned
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