Atlas Shrugged Love Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Volume.Chapter.Section.Page). We used the 50th Anniversary Edition published by Signet Books in 2007.

Quote #1

"What do you care which records? Richard Halley. She loves the music of Richard Halley. Outside the railroad, that's the only thing she loves." (1.3.3.7)

It's interesting that Eddie says that Dagny only loves Halley's music and her railroad. In a sense, these two things are the expression of Dagny's values, which define what she loves and why she loves. These two symbols express the "type" of love Dagny is capable of feeling.

Quote #2

There was some unbreakable link between her love for her work and the desire of her body; as if one gave her the right to the other, the right and the meaning; as if one were the completion of the other – and the desire would never be satisfied, except by a being of equal greatness. (1.8.2.15)

The link between the mind and the body is a running theme throughout the novel; the love of the mind is expressed through the body.

Quote #3

Because it took her a moment to regain the art of breathing, she realized for the first time how much that voice meant to her. "All right...Francisco," she answered. They needed to say nothing else. She thought, replacing the receiver, that his return was natural and as she had always expected it to happen, except that she had not expected her sudden need to pronounce his name or the stab of happiness she felt when pronouncing it. (1.5.2.222).

It's notable that Dagny never comes right out and says she loved Francisco until they reconcile. In a way it's as if she refuses to remember how much she loved him because it hurts too much. Scenes like this reveal the full depth of her feelings for Francisco.