Ayn Rand: biography, family, literary work, film adaptations of works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Ayn Rand's biography is well known to all fans of American literature. This is a writer and philosopher, known for her two bestsellers - "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Source". She also wrote scripts for films, was a playwright, her works were filmed several times.

Early years

Ayn Rand's biography begins in 1905 when she was born. The girl was born in St. Petersburg, on the territory of the Russian Empire. Her father was a Jewish pharmacist, his name was Zalman-Wolf (Zinoviy Zakharovich) Rosenbaum. Mother, Khana Berkovna Kaplan, worked as a dental technician. Both parents of Ain died in besieged Leningrad.

At birth, the heroine of our article was given the name Alisa Zinovievna Rosenbaum. She was the youngest of three daughters.

In 1910, her father began to manage a large pharmacy on Nevsky Prospekt, after which the family moved to a large apartment located directly above his workplace. A couple of years later, Zinovy Zakharovich became the owner of this pharmacy.

Alice learned to read and write by fouryears. I started writing short stories as a child. She received her primary education at the Stoyunina Women's Gymnasium, where she studied with Vladimir Nabokov's sister Olga.

After the revolution

Biography of Ayn Rand after the October Revolution was not the best way. All the property of her family was confiscated by the Bolsheviks, Alice with her parents and sisters left for the Crimea. She finished school in Evpatoria.

In 1921 she returned to Petrograd to enter the university at the faculty of social pedagogy. The course included philology, history and law. During her studies, she was imbued with the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, who had a significant impact on her worldview. She graduated from the university in 1924. At the same time, according to some sources, she failed to finish her studies, as she was expelled because of her bourgeois origin.

Emigration

However, Alice did not leave literary work. In 1925, her work en titled "Pola Negri" was published as a separate publication, which was dedicated to the work of the then popular American actress of Polish origin.

In 1925, the heroine of our article received a visa, thanks to which she managed to go to study in America. In Chicago, she stayed with her mother's cousins. She never returned from the US, although her parents and sisters stayed in the Soviet Union. Her sister Natalya was a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory, and Eleonora emigrated to Alice at the invitation in 1973, but soon returned to the USSR again. Until the verydeath remained in Leningrad. Sad was the fate of her first love, Lev Bekkerman, bred in Ayn Rand's book "We are the living" under the name of Leo Kovalensky. He was shot in 1937.

Hollywood career

In America, Alice started out as an extra in Hollywood. She brought four scripts from Russia, but none of the stories interested the local producers.

In 1929, she married American actor Frank O´Connor, through whom she acquired American citizenship. Ayn Rand's husband was eight years older than her. He died in 1979.

At first, the fate of the emigrant was not easy. The studio in which she got a job went bankrupt in 1927. For the next five years, she worked part-time jobs as a newspaper subscription saleswoman, waitress, dresser.

First success

An important event in the biography of Ayn Rand occurred in 1932, when she managed to sell the script for her painting "Red Pawn" to Universal Studios. She received $1,500 for it, which was a lot of money for her at the time. This allowed for a while to forget about the need to earn money to survive, to focus solely on literature.

In 1936, her first novel, We Are the Living, was published. This book by Ayn Rand was dedicated to the fate of the dispossessed in the USSR. So unofficially called everyone who was deprived of the right to vote after the October Revolution. These included merchants, bankers, private traders andshopkeepers, clergymen, former police officers and other law enforcement officers of Tsarist Russia.

Rand worked for six years, the book took a lot of her strength. At the same time, the novel was received extremely cool by critics, American readers showed almost no interest in it.

At the center of the story is the daily struggle of the individual against tyranny in a totalitarian state. The work describes the relationship between three young people, each of whom is trying to achieve his own in post-revolutionary Russia. The main characters are Kira and two of her friends: the ideological communist and employee of the GPU Andrei and the son of aristocrats Leo. Kira herself wants to become independent despite poverty and constant hunger. Leo finds himself under the millstones of repression, Andrei uses his official position to help the girl.

In 1942, Mussolini, who considered criticism of the USSR in this novel, without the knowledge of the author, ordered it to be filmed. Leading Italian actors of the time were involved in the film.

Second novel

The first failure did not stop the heroine of our article. In 1937 she wrote the story "Hymn". Ayn Rand in this work paints a picture of a totalitarian society that suppresses human feelings and creativity in the citizens of its country by all means. This is a classic socio-political dystopia.

Her second novel is called The Fountainhead. Ayn Rand releases it at the height of World War II - in 1943. At first, critics perceived him badly, but after two years he becamea real bestseller, winning readers' love.

The story begins with architecture student Howard Roark being expelled from the Institute of Technology for refusing to adhere to accepted methods and traditions in building design. He goes to New York, where he takes a job with a famous architect in the past, who abandoned a successful career, not wanting to be led by the public.

According to critics, the main idea of the work is that the engines of progress are talented people with a pronounced ego. Roarke is a staunch individualist who dreams of transforming the world around him and creating. He defends the freedom of a creative person by all means available to him, refusing to deviate from his own professional and life principles, to make any concessions and compromises.

Dystopia

The third novel by Ayn Rand, written in 1957, became one of the most famous works in her creative career. It was called Atlas Shrugged. This is a dystopian novel that she considered the highlight of her literary career.

The key idea of this work is that the whole world is actually supported by talented creative people who remain single throughout their lives. The writer compares them with mythical titans who hold the vault of heaven. She believes that if they stop creating at some point, then everything around will collapse. This is exactly what happens in the book when the creators succumbto the socialist government.

According to the plot of the novel, American politicians begin to support demands aimed at monopolizing the markets. At the same time, their demands begin to miraculously resemble the demands of the socialists. This is happening not only in the US, but all over the world. The oppression of big business is gradually spreading, the planned economy is replacing the free market, the country is plunging into darkness and chaos.

At the center of the story is a mine owner and steel king named Hank Rearden. In addition, he is known as an inventor and owner of metallurgical plants, who suffered greatly due to the economic changes that took place in the world. He is assisted by the vice president of the railway company, Dagny Taggart. Together they try to resist what is happening. Soon the whole world finds itself in a deep economic crisis, economic ties are collapsing at a catastrophic rate.

Politicians and businessmen from Washington, in whose hands the real power is concentrated, are trying to regulate the situation by planned methods, but the situation is only getting worse. Oil production stops, there are massive failures in the supply of coal, after some time its production is completely curtailed.

At this moment, Taggart notices that a number of creative people and well-known entrepreneurs have curtailed their business, ceasing to do it. He tries to find out where they have gone. It was then that he met the inventor and philosopher John G alt.

The novel is divided into three parts, which are called "Nonsense","Either-or", "A is A". Their names are fully consistent with the laws of formal logic. In reviews of Ayn Rand's books, many noted that this work radically changed their lives, made them take a fresh look at the world around them.

Screenings

This novel by Rand has become so popular also because it has been repeatedly filmed. In 2011, the American fantasy drama Atlas Shrugged by Paul Johansson appeared on the screens. The film was almost verbatim film adaptation of the novel of the heroine of our article. The creators decided to split the work into three parts: the second was released in 2012, and the third in 2014.

The first part of the story focuses on Dagny Taggart, who strives to show her best business qualities, resourcefulness and courage in order to cope with the management of a large railway corporation. At the same time, the most competent and talented employees of her company begin to disappear one by one. Trying to solve this problem, Dagny meets a major industrialist who produces rearden metal he invented at his factories. Together they decide to rebuild an important rail line that leads to a large oil field in Colorado.

In the film "Atlas Shrugged" the role of Dagny Taggart is played by Taylor Schilling. Also starring Grant Bowler, Matthew Marsden, Graham Beckel, Edi Gathegi.

The director of the second part of the film was director John Putch. This time the role of Dagny Taggartperformed by Samantha Mathis. The third part was directed by James Manera, and the image of the main character on the screen was embodied by Laura Regan.

It is worth noting that films based on the novels of Ayn Rand were filmed more than once. In addition to this trilogy and the story with Mussolini, her work The Fountainhead was filmed in 1949, starring two-time Academy Award winner Gary Cooper.

Philosophical works

After the success of Atlas Shrugged, Rand concentrated on philosophical writing. From 1961 to 1982 she writes:

• "For the new intellectual";
• "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal";
• "The Virtue of Selfishness";
• "Introduction to the philosophy of knowledge of objectivism";
• "The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution";
• "Philosophy: who needs it".

The heroine of our article lectures at universities across the country.

One of the notable works is a collection of essays called "The Virtue of Selfishness". It is based on the report of the writer, made at the symposium "Ethics of our time" at the University of Wisconsin. In the book, Rand examines the concept of ethics through the prism of objectivism, defends the concept of the so-called "reasonable selfishness", which he considers the ethical basis of a capitalist free society.

In the book "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal" Ayn Rand still amazes readers with the poignancy,topicality and persuasiveness of their observations. Using examples from political, social and economic life, she proves that only a system that puts personality, free exchange of goods and ideas at the forefront can make a person free.

Recent years

In the 60s and 70s, Rand propagated objectivist philosophy and received his Ph. D. Often takes conflicting positions on sensitive and topical issues.

For example, opposes the Vietnam War, but at the same time condemns people who evade military service. In 1973, she surprised many when she came out in support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War that unfolded in 1973. Further, she considered homosexuality immoral and disgusting, while at the same time calling for the abolition of all laws relating to the oppression of supporters of same-sex love. The story of Ayn Rand was of interest to many, her fate was closely followed by the creative people of that time.

In 1964, it becomes known that her close associate Nathaniel Branden, with whom she had a romantic relationship, had an affair with a young actress, Patricia Scott. They later married, but initially hid their relationship from Rand. The heroine of our article found out about this novel only four years later. By then, their love relationship had long since ended, but she was still furious. Rand completely cut off all communication with Branden, which led to the liquidation of their joint project.

In the press, she accused her former colleague of lying. In 1974year, the writer underwent surgery due to lung cancer. In the late 70s, she began to work much less, her activities within the Objectivist movement declined after the death of her husband in 1979. One of her latest projects was the television adaptation of Atlas Shrugged, which was never completed.

In March 1982, Rand died of heart failure at her own home in New York. She was 77 years old.

The heroine of our article was buried at Kensico Cemetery. Her farewell was attended by several of her followers, who sought to further promote her ideas. As she bequeathed, Leonard Peikoff became the heir to her entire estate.