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FROM NOVELIST TO PHILOSOPHER, 1944–1957
different altogether. Rand fi nally had answers to the fi rst questions the
novel had raised, indeed the questions that had driven her for years.
Objectivism was the rational, error-free system Rand had not found in
the wider world. It began with A = A, her nod to Aristotle’s law of identity.
From this basic axiom of existence, it built to a towering edifi ce
that addressed the most important issues of life: economics, morality,
sex, knowledge itself. Its centerpiece was Galt’s speech, a philosophical
defense of the rational, fully autonomous individual. Not only was man
free to choose; he had to choose, and the preservation of life itself was
not involuntary, but a choice. As Galt explains, “His mind is given to
him, its content is not. . . . Reason does not work automatically; thinking
is not a mechanical process. . . . [Man] has no automatic knowledge of
what is good for him or evil.” 55 Rand did not mean this existentially, but
literally. Objectivism denied the existence of instincts or innate knowledge
that propel humans toward food, shelter, sex. Instead, she held
that the choice to live was a rational choice, to be consciously made by
man’s mind. What was the role of the mind in man’s existence? Mind
was everything.
The catch was that Rand had chosen to express all these ideas in the
context of a fi ctional story. Although she spoke fl uidly about her philosophical
accomplishments to her young followers, translating her system
into fi ction was a daunting task. To integrate her ideas into the fl ow
of the story she had to present arguments without arguing, for Galt’s
speech is a monologue, not a dialogue. It would have been easy to do,
Rand thought, if she were writing a treatise. But how could Galt convincingly
express these ideas in the context of a dramatic story? She toggled
back and forth uncertainly between clashing genres, feeling her mind
“working on two tracks.” 56 Every time the words began to fl ow, Rand
realized she was writing as a philosopher, not a novelist. Angrily she
would cut herself off and start again. Until Galt’s speech was fi nished
she was unwilling to secure a publisher, making it feel as if the entire
project was on hold. Frank, who had watched her write for more than
two decades, thought it was the worst time she had ever endured.
Rand’s diffi culties cut to a deep problem of self identifi cation. “I seem
to be both a theoretical philosopher and a fi ction writer,” she noted to
herself with some pleasure as she began planning the novel nearly ten
years before. 57 At fi rst it had seemed a winning combination. But given its
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