When Cherryl returns, it is clear Jim has been unfaithful.
He admits it and says he will never give her a divorce, and she
is stuck with him. She asks why he married her. He tells her viciously
that he married her because she was worthless, because he wanted
her to accept his love as alms. She realizes that he really married
her because she was struggling to rise above the gutter, and it
was this struggle he wanted to destroy. She tells him he
is a killer for the sake of killing, and he slaps her. She runs
out into the street, where a social worker sees her and tells her
that her despair is a result of her selfishness. This is too much
to take, and she jumps off a bridge and drowns.
Analysis: Part Three, Chapters III–IV
Project X reveals the extent to which the looters’ regime
depends on sheer brute force. The monstrous machine, built using
scientific principles discovered by Dr. Stadler, demonstrates what
is created when the mind is used by the state for its own ends.
With the machine at its disposal, the government has become a true
dictatorship, able to dominate its people through threats and violence.
Stadler’s willingness to participate in the unveiling marks the
final collapse of his integrity. He has known nothing of the project
and realizes that his name is being associated with it to make the
public more accepting. At first, he is outraged at being used and
horrified by the machine itself, but he does as he is told, even
agreeing to read the speech prepared for him by the government.
He now stands fully with the looters.
The Railroad Unification plan is another example of the
absurd efforts of the government. But this time there is no effort
to even hide the absurdity or pretend that the good of the nation
will be served. The plan benefits only Taggart Transcontinental
and the well-connected Jim Taggart, who is credited with delivering Rearden
to the looters. Taggart has been using the tracks of other railroads
to get around the destroyed tunnel but is not responsible for maintaining
them. Meanwhile, Taggart owns more track than anyone, but most of
it is unused. By crafting the plan to reward income based on amount
of track owned instead of service provided, Taggart will reap huge
profits. Smaller railroads will maintain the lines it is using,
and its own lines will carry almost no traffic. The most successful
railroad under the plan would be one that owns the most track but
runs no trains at all.
Dagny’s radio address is a triumph of reason and honesty
over deceit and denial. At first, she refuses to appear because
to do so would imply her endorsement of the Railroad Unification
Plan and would suggest the industry is not in shambles. Both would
be lies. But when she learns of the blackmail used on Rearden, she
welcomes the opportunity to avenge him. She is not bothered by publicly
revealing her affair with Rearden. As she has said before, she is proud
of it, and her own opinion is the only one that matters to her. Dagny
does not believe in the separation of the mind and body that would
make her physical desires base and shameful. For her, the desires
of the body are connected to the rational perceptions of the mind.
She and Rearden desired each other because of their respect and
admiration for each other.
In stark contrast to the passion Dagny and Rearden have
shared, Jim and Lillian’s encounter is tawdry and cheap. They are
not motivated by respect or admiration, or even the desire for a
moment’s pleasure. They are drawn to each other by their need to
destroy Rearden. The only words spoken between them is Jim’s reference
to Lillian as “Mrs. Rearden.” Lillian is still married to Rearden
and believes she can hurt him with her infidelity. Rearden, of course,
is far beyond caring, but Lillian does not know that. Finally, the
picture of Jim is now complete. He is, as Cherryl accuses him, a
killer for the sake of killing. He is a nihilist, seeking and enjoying
the destruction of others. Although the rest of the looters are
motivated by the quest for power and money, Jim does not enjoy these
things the way he enjoys destroying men of integrity. His desire
to celebrate the Argentinean deal has less to do with the fortune
he stands to make than with the prospect of Francisco’s ruin. Throughout
his life, he has been driven to destroy the strong, capable people
around him. Unable to accomplish his goal, he has chosen Cherryl
as a substitute, because she is easier to destroy.
In Cherryl Brooks, Rand presents a true victim. Cherryl
endures a profound transformation, from worshipping the best in
people and believing she has found it in Jim, to comprehending evil
in its purest form. When she sees Jim laid bare as the
killer he is, she finds herself trapped. Though Dagny can offer
her a brief refuge from the evil, she has no form of escape, either
from her marriage or ultimately from the society in which Jim’s
values prevail. Her suicide is her way out, just as withdrawal from
the looters’ world is the strikers’ way out.
