Hanks Misery

Hank is at a bad point in his life, in pretty much every aspect. He hates his marriage, yet he does not try to make it better and cheats on Lillian with Dagny. Aside from that, his and Dagny’s project is not heading in the right direction and they find it awfully difficult to find the motor inventor they need. When Hank gets home after a day of work, he tries to avoid Lillian by sneaking into his room. That scene is a clear indication that those two should not be together. Hank wonders why Lillian married him after she mocks and rants on him for being such a terrible husband, which is almost a daily routine for this couple. I cannot understand Hank’s reasoning, though. If he enjoys spending time with Dagny, and is very conscious that she is one of the few pleasures in his life, why does he refrain from leaving his wife and initiating a concrete relationship with Dagny?

Though he has shown himself to be an effective businessman and a strong leader, I cannot help but think that Hank has a cowardly side to him, and it seems to me that he is so focused on his industrial world that he disregards his emotional problems and is too lazy or distracted to fix them. Not only that, Hank feels guilty for the affair he has with Dagny, so he just lets Lillian do whatever she wants in an attempt to avoid actually talking things out and mending his life back together. When he finally asks her what her deal is, she ignores him and he let’s her get away with it, only to cause her to be affectionate towards him (which is completely bipolar of her).  He rejects her, and later wishes that he were with Dagny. His relationship with Lillian is pathetic, and the longer he stays with her the more miserable he becomes.