The American novelist Ayn Rand wrote the most intellectually challenging fiction of her generation. She also defined a comprehensive philosophy, including a theory of esthetics in which she explained her literary values, techniques and objectives. In a 1963 speech she is explicit: “The motive and purpose of my writing is
the projection of an ideal man. The portrayal of a moral ideal, as my ultimate literary goal, as an end in itself – to which any didactic, intellectual or philosophical values contained in a novel are only the means.” Her vision of the ideal man was a theme uniting her early life, her literary career and her later philosophical work.
Ayn Rand was born Alissa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Feb 2, 1905. Her earliest inspiration was in heroic French children's
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Citation: Conn, Kathleen. "Ayn Rand". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 October 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3705, accessed 23 November 2024.]
