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WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
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anew. Rand worried that her deepest fear had come true: Nathan did not
love her anymore. She was still his idol, but no longer his sweetheart.
After his separation from Barbara, Nathan began a lame effort to integrate
Patrecia into his public life, even as their affair remained a secret
to all. He told Patrecia about his past with Rand, swearing her to silence.
Nathan assumed that if Rand discovered his new romance she would
banish him forever. Still, he allowed himself to hope that if she got to
know Patrecia fi rst, she would be less hurt when their relationship came
to light. He began to drop Patrecia’s name into conversation, and he
included her regularly in Collective events.
At fi rst Rand did not suspect Patrecia of being a rival. By now she
was a high-profi le member of the Junior Collective, by dint of her good
looks and eager interest in Rand’s philosophy. At an Objectivist fashion
show she wowed the audience in a glamorous wedding gown. Following
Nathan’s lead, Patrecia worked to develop a friendship with Rand. She
was solicitous and respectful, telling her in a letter, “When I read The
Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, when I fi rst saw you, when I think
of you and see you now, and when I look at this picture of you—my
head is always bowed.” 23 When Patrecia decided to pursue an acting
career she took the stage name “Patrecia Wynand,” after a character in
The Fountainhead. Before her Tonight Show appearances Rand asked
Patrecia for help with her makeup. Rand liked Patrecia and admired her
beauty. She had even asked for one of her professional headshots, which
she kept in her desk drawer. But she could not understand why Nathan
kept bringing her up in their private conversations.
Ayn and Nathan were both trapped by Objectivist theories of love,
sex, and emotion, which allowed them no graceful exit from a failed
affair. From the start Rand had integrated sexuality into Objectivism.
In Atlas Shrugged she argued that sexual love was a response to values
and a refl ection of self-esteem. Love was not mysterious, mercurial, or
emotional, and desire was never a mere physical response. “Tell me what
a man fi nds sexually attractive and I will tell you his entire philosophy of
life. Show me the woman he sleeps with and I will tell you his valuation
of himself,” declares Francisco D’Anconia. 24 So it was that Dominique
loved Howard, Dagny loved Galt, and Nathan loved Ayn. According to
Objectivism, Nathan’s love for Ayn was natural, even expected, because
he held her as his highest value. To repudiate her was to repudiate all his
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