jbgotmar

226
WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
More oxford books @ www.OxfordeBook.com
psychology was not even psychology as such, Nathan admitted. He told
Rand, “My whole interest in psychology is not to cure patients, but to
justify our view of man.” 27 At the time he began his liaison with Patrecia
Nathan was working to apply these ideas in the realm of romantic love.
Nathan’s own life provided the perfect example of his psychological
system in action. Unable to accept, change, or rationally understand his
feelings for Patrecia, he went into denial. Their affair was only temporary,
he told himself, and would fi zzle out before long. Nor was he able
to pull away from Rand, despite his faltering desire. Instead he tried
to explain his behavior in rational terms. And he began to lie. He told
Rand he suffered from a mysterious sexual block; something was wrong
with him. Ever eager to help her prize student, Rand met with him for
long therapy sessions. She held out some hope that he and Barbara
would reunite, seeing them together for additional meetings. Rand even
allowed herself to confront the unacceptable: that Nathan, now in his
early thirties, had no sexual or romantic desire for a woman who was
nearly sixty. When she asked directly, Nathan denied that his feelings
had changed. He at once prevaricated and hinted at the truth, hoping
for a miracle that would deliver them all. Maybe Rand would decide of
her own accord their affair was over and set him free. But Rand, never
one for subtlety or nuance, could not read between the lines. 28
Rand was also blinded by her idea of man worship, a corollary to her
sex theory. Men and women are equal, Rand emphasized, but nonetheless
a woman should look up to her man’s superior masculinity. When
McCall’s called Rand for a puff piece about a woman president, she told
the magazine, “A woman cannot reasonably want to be a commanderin-chief.”
Many readers of The Objectivist were astounded by the assertion
and asked Rand for clarifi cation. She elaborated in a longer essay,
“An Answer to Readers: About a Woman President.” According to Rand,
a woman should never be president, not because she was unqualifi ed
for the task, but because a woman president would be too powerful.
As commander in chief she would be unable to look up to any man
in her life, and this would be psychologically damaging. Any woman
who would consider such a position, Rand claimed, was unfi t for it, for
“a properly feminine woman does not treat men as if she were their
pal, sister, mother—or leader.” 29 Rand’s theory of man worship was an
abstract projection that kept her ignorant of both Frank’s and Nathan’s
Fore more urdu books visit www.4Urdu.com