Sunday, November 12, 2006

Jane Austin meets Ayn Rand after Nov. 7th, 2006

The writings of two more unlikely women one could not expect being the my topic of discussion this fine Sunday. But indeed they are: Jane Austin and Any Rand. As a form of escapism from the election-day energy and efforts, I bought the movie Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin. Also, I bought Ayn Rand's book, The Fountainhead. The Rand book is the 25th Anniversary Edition in paperback. I mention that because Ayn Rand has included an introduction from which I will include a few quotations. On the surface, it seems as though I could not have chosen two more disparate works, but that does not seem to be the case. I make no claim to being able to understand Ayn Rand and, certainly do not have her philosophical grasp of the writers she studied; however, I found her discussion of the man-worshipers vs the man-haters to be especially appropriate at this juncture in our political shiftings. Sense and Sensibility portrays a strict, rather rigid, societal code - not altogether offensive - yet a code through which women of a certain social class are soley dependent upon the whims and the largess of powerful, landed men for their futures and fortunes. Money, property, et al, were passed down from father to son. As Eleanor Dashwood points out, men inherit their fortunes, while women are not even allowed to earn theirs. More to follow later in the day.....
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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:45 AM

    You have picked two great authors. With The Fountainhead there are times when a reader must be very careful. At times, things are not as simple as the first impression she creates suggests; (i.e. the so-called "rape scene" is no such thing.

    It is the 'surface' readers who repeat the words of those resent Rand's works. Those who resent her works, resent the responsibility of serious thinking, and resent the consequences of what it says about them, even as they think up ways to argue against it and her.

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  2. Beach Girl10:10 AM

    I admit no philosophical prowess or intellectual astuteness with regard to Ayn Rand. I find it interesting that I chose both Austin and Rand at this time. I will write more about these two books. In their own ways, they speak much about the basic concepts of those who "man-worship" and those who are "man-haters". It is that idea that I found so intreguing. (forgive lapses or misspelled words today) Man in this case of course pertains to man, the species. In Rand's introduction I found the interesting construct that fairly well describes the general/basic view of man held by all political parties/pseudo-religious political ideologies man has found himself between for most of his existence.

    That she put it so simply/basically in such few words was of most interest to me as I will try to share with visitors to my blog.

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  3. Anonymous12:02 PM

    RnBram said...
    "Those who resent her works, resent the responsibility of serious thinking, and resent the consequences of what it says about them, even as they think up ways to argue against it and her."

    It is a sad thing for Ayn Rand that she has attracted such a flock of shallow thinking groupies. When they spout these kinds of sweeping generalizations concocted from unproved and unprovable subjective prejudice they do her and her work far worse disservice than her detractors.

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