"Prospector and Jeweler": Ayn Rand on the Relationship between Politics and Literature
Journal
Journal of American Studies
ISSN
0021-8758
ISSN-Digital
1469-5154
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2015-02-01
Author(s)
Abstract
The novels by Russian immigrant writer Ayn Rand (1905-82) still attract a large readership, not least thanks to a recent renaissance of libertarian ideas in the US. Was it Rand's intention, when writing her novels, to construct political tracts, as many insinuate, or was she indeed trying to imitate her literary idols, as she herself claimed? The answer is complicated due to Rand's own contradictory statements on fiction's impact. Although Rand suggested that it was the reader who gave text meaning, she also believed her books to have an unambiguous message that should have a distinct effect on the reader.
Language
English
Keywords
Ayn Rand
libertarianism
Objectivism
reader-response theory
politics and literature
philosophy and literature
American conservatism
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher place
Cambridge
Volume
49
Number
1
Start page
143
End page
158
Pages
16
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
238722