The first prophet of Objectivism, the author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead”, and one of the least recognised fantasy writers of the twentieth century, Ayn Rand was 77 years old when she died. The medical diagnosis was heart failure; on a more metaphorical level, it’s pretty clear that a writer who so baldly exposed selfishness had experienced a failure to have a heart some decades earlier.
Rand was a divisive figure who held many views that do not easily split into Leftist or Rightist framework – she opposed the Vietnam War but condemned draft dodgers; she thought homosexuality was “disgusting” and “immoral” but still supported its decriminalisation, she believed in “free love” but was notoriously jealous and possessive of her lovers – and she was a staunch critic of the welfare state.
She died supported by government benefits, as she could not afford medical treatment on her own.
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