Dagny admires Lillian’s bracelet made of Rearden Metal.
When Lillian mockingly complains that she would gladly exchange
it for diamonds, Dagny offers her own diamond bracelet, which Lillian
is forced to accept. Rearden watches, visibly shaken, but stands
by his wife, coldly telling Dagny that her action was not necessary.
Analysis: Part One, Chapters V–VI
The mystery of Francisco deepens as readers learn what
he has done. By deliberately investing in worthless mines, he has
destroyed his own fortune. What could possibly have motivated him?
Dagny’s memory of their affair reveals him to be even more complicated. Clearly,
he loved her very much, yet he chose to leave her and pursue a worthless
existence, seemingly against his own desires. The question of why
he left her and why he is working to destroy her railroad along
with his mines is at the heart of the novel. But neither Dagny nor
the reader is ready to know the answers just yet.
Lillian’s party guests demonstrate the cynical and hopeless
state of the culture. Intellectuals speak aimlessly of the futility
of thought, the death of reason, and the supremacy of need. When
Francisco tells Jim his mismanagement of the mines was merely putting
society’s vague words into action, he begins to demonstrate the
absurdity involved in the practical application of socialist ideas.
But Jim does not hear him or understand the absurdity. He is too
focused on his own losses. Francisco has put the conventional morality
into action, with disastrous effect. His comments foreshadow the
absurdity to come, as lawmakers create policies that are contradictory and
illogical, then wonder at their failure.
The party also serves to bring Francisco and Rearden together. The
dignity Francisco shows in approaching Rearden disarms him and makes
him open to the strange message Francisco bears. Francisco’s respectful
tone is even more surprising and unexpected, given his playboy reputation.
This conversation marks the beginning of Rearden’s transformation
as he struggles to overcome his dual nature. As Francisco points
out, Rearden is an uncompromising egoist who happily follows his
own rational self-interest in his work. But in his personal life,
he allows others to dictate his morality and accepts condemnation
from a family that leeches off of him, offering him no value in
exchange. When Francisco points out this duality, Rearden begins
to close the gap between his two selves. But he still does not understand
why Francisco has told him all this.
Rand uses the bracelet incident to create important contrasts between
Dagny and Lillian. Dagny’s love for the bracelet demonstrates that
she understands what is important to Rearden and that the same things
are important to her. Lillian, on the other hand, hates the bracelet
and wears it only to mock Rearden. She does not understand or care
for him at all. Although he despises Lillian, Rearden is trapped
in an imposed morality and feels compelled to stand by his wife.
He assumes that his inability to understand her must be a failure
within himself. Although Rearden understands how much he and Dagny
have in common and is attracted to her, he treats her coldly in
an attempt to resist the attraction and remain loyal to his mocking
wife.
The mystery of John Galt continues to grow as the guests
discuss the rumor that he discovered the legendary Atlantis, a paradise
on Earth. Francisco’s insistence that the story is true creates
a possible link between his own mysterious secrets and the answer
to the question “Who is John Galt?”
