Hank and Lillian Rearden

         At first, when Hank and Dagny began to build their relationship, I was certain that it would not last, mostly because I did not like these two characters put together. By reading about Hank and his attitude towards Lillian, I did not like him together with Dagny because from the beginning of the novel, she was always one of my favorite characters, and by reading about what other characters depicted about Hank, he just seemed like a cold, selfish, workaholic. As the relationship developed, I began to enjoy reading about Hank and Dagny because it shows a completely different side of Hank and how his attitude and mood changes when he is around Dagny. Hank not only seems much more happier with Dagny, but you can also see how Hank has a compassionate and caring side when he is around her.
         Hank Rearden is easily my favorite character in the novel, I just dont understand why he doesnt allow himself to be completely content with himself. Once Lillian finds out about Hanks secret affair, he tells her that he is willing to take full responsibility for his actions. Lillian obviously decides to use this situation to her advantage, and tells Hank that she will not divorce him, because the he would just be getting exactly what he wants. Lillian explains to him how he can continue on his affair, but every time that he sees her he will have to be aware and think of what he has done to her, and how even at his highest moments and accomplishments in his life/career, he will realize that he is not nearly close to perfect once he is reminded of what he did to Lillian, since she did not deserve it at all. For some reason, Hank decides to agree to this, and I do not understand at all why. She basically just told him that she was going to make sure that he would constantly be reminded of how much he hurt her and how he messed up. From reading the novel we can clearly see how happy he is around Dagny in comparison to how miserable Lillian makes him. I cant see why he wouldn't have divorced Lillian once she found out and started to spend more time with Dagny, allowing himself to be happy for once.