CHAPTER 2

Who Is Dagny Taggart?

“That’s who runs Taggart Transcontinental,” said the engineer; the respect in his voice was genuine.[1]

In 1957 a persona innovata descended into this earthly civilization, unpredicted, uninvited, and unrecognizable within the societal culture of the fifties. From Ayn Rand’s mind issued Dagny Taggart, a creature like no other. She arrived with a simple résumé:

Current Position: Vice President Operations, Taggart Transcontinental Railways
Education: Engineering, math, and voluntary apprenticeships at Taggart Transcontinental
Reference: Hank Rearden, Founder and CEO of Rearden Steel
Hobby: Concertos of Richard Halley

The identity of Dagny Taggart had no linkages to prominent female role models of the decade, such as Doris Day, Donna Reed, Dinah Washington, Dinah Shore, or Dorothy Kilgallen. Within the underground of admirers who read the newly published Atlas Shrugged, it is astonishing that these early women readers could identify with such an unprecedented female character as Dagny. One wonders what untapped aptitudes were starting to stir. But I once encountered a woman of that era, who commented when she saw my copy of the novel, “I read that book when it came out, and then read it again. It really made me think.”

. . .

As my understanding of this possible new genre of woman grew in fascination, I kept asking myself: Why did Ayn Rand give her sublime female protagonist a name like Dagny?

What an odd name.

. . .

Larry King Interviews Barbara Branden

In 1986 Barbara Branden produced a particularly notable book about the author, The Passion of Ayn Rand. She recounted her personal years in Ayn Rand’s inner circle, during the era when Rand created Atlas Shrugged.

Larry King first gained traction with an American audience via his late-night radio talk show, broadcast over the national AM airways at midnight. Although often up at that hour, I listened irregularly. But on one particularly lucky occasion, I tuned in to Larry’s show as he introduced Barbara Branden to discuss her newly released book. I listened to every word of the interview. She described her participation in Rand’s inner circle during the intense writing of Atlas Shrugged, and how Rand would often share the progress of the book with this group who became ironically named “The Collective.” Except for Ayn Rand’s husband Frank O’Connor, no other individuals had such proximity to the author during the novel’s formative years.

The format of Larry King’s radio show resembled the television show that he eventually hosted on CNN. After completing his one-on-one interview with the guest, Larry opened the telephone lines for rapid-fire questions from anonymous callers. I listened to the interview with rapt attention when I heard this brief exchange, depicted here in its entirety:

“Where did the name Dagny come from?” asked a caller.

“I don’t know,” answered Barbara simply, with no further speculation.

Larry moved on to the next call.

The Quest Begins

If Barbara Branden did not know the source of Dagny’s name, I might never confirm an answer. Maybe Rand simply made up the name Dagny to blend with Taggart. Possibly it was a double dose of aural aggravation with no underlying interpretive purpose. But I had to pursue the quest. My years of musing produced a semiconscious suspicion.

Ayn Rand crafted Atlas Shrugged too carefully to leave Dagny’s name to chance, even if Barbara Branden was in the dark.

1. Atlas Shrugged, 17.