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WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
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He spoke in circles, contradicted himself, and was unable to state his
thoughts clearly. Most distressing of all, when Rand asked Nathan how
he felt about her, he responded, “I don’t know.” Nor could he explain his
feelings for Barbara or Patrecia. The man Rand hailed as her teacher of
psychology was utterly divorced from his inner state. After a year of this
Rand was losing hope. “He makes me feel dead,” she wrote in her journal.
61 Then in June 1968 Nathan presented Rand with a letter in which
he stated clearly that their age difference made it impossible for him to
resume an affair with her.
Nathan’s letter was a devastating rejection not only of Rand, but of
the Objectivist philosophy itself. Objectivism taught that sex was never
physical; it was always inspired by a deeper recognition of shared values,
a sense that the other embodied the highest human achievement. Not
only was Rand emotionally crushed, she now worried that Nathan was
an inadequate representative of her life’s work. He was caught in the
snare of physical attraction, which spoke volumes to his emotional and
spiritual confusion. And he had struck hardest at Rand’s deepest insecurities
by telling her she was no longer attractive to him.
Even after the letter, Rand clung to the hope of some relationship
with Nathan. So quick to break with others who angered her, she went
to extraordinary lengths to preserve their connection. “Love is exception
making,” she had written in The Fountainhead, and now she carved out
an exception for the man to whom she had dedicated Atlas Shrugged. 62
She and Nathan would continue as business associates, understanding
that they would never recapture the personal closeness of their early
years. NBI and The Objectivist would continue unchanged. Nathan
would work on his inability to live by Objectivist principles, and he
would agree to give up seeing Patrecia, the source of his emotional
troubles. Rand still believed that their relationship was platonic but suspected
that Nathan had buried feelings for Patrecia. It was yet another
instance of his failing to check his premises or think rationally.
This unstable accord held together, barely, for most of the summer.
Ayn and Nathan continued to edit articles together, but the long therapy
sessions were over. Nathan began seeing Allan Blumenthal instead.
Blumenthal had a medical degree but no formal training in psychology
beyond what Nathan taught him. Now he served as Nathan’s confessor.
Nathan admitted his love for Patrecia, but not the affair. Rand grew
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