Dagny the Executive vs. Dagny the Lover

Dagny Taggart is portrayed throughout the first 160 pages of the novel as a strong, independent, woman who is in full control of her life. Rand uses her to show the world that women can excel in the executive world and that many times, women are able to take control of a situation better than men. An example of this is when Dagny takes all of the expensive assets of the company out of Mexico behind James’ back, knowing that the operations in Mexico are going to fail. Rand spends much of her time in this part of the novel developing Dagny’s vigor and ability for business. All of this strength is contradicted as Rand introduces the real relationship between Dagny Taggart and Francisco d’ Anconia. When looking closely at this relationship, we see a weakness in Dagny. She is devastated when she learns what has become of the great Francisco d’ Anconia she once knew. Amidst her devastation and disbelief, we expect the strong-willed Ms. Taggart to stand up to Francisco and not give up in trying to make him rethink his actions and realize that his ways go against his beliefs. Instead, she accepts things the way they are, gives up on him and admits to him that even now, she desires to sleep with him. Rand creates this contradiction within Dagny and shows the reader the strong, intelligent, and capable woman in Dagny the executive. Yet she also portrays the emotional and submissive woman in Dagny the hopeless lover.