Theme of Equality in Ayn Rand's Anthem Essay Sample

Literature has misrepresented women for generations. Eventually, the social concept of an “admirable woman” became so shallow, base and contradictory that it no longer served as a realistic or reliable guide for anyone to follow. As the next generation rewrites what makes an “admirable woman” yet again, it is pivotal that it studies where the past generations got things wrong. Ayn Rand’s dystopian novella Anthem is a fitting example of how the societal values of women shift, and it will serve as a valuable tool of study in the fight for women’s equality. Rand’s character, Liberty 5-3000, is not admirable because Rand writes Liberty as the ideal woman of another time, and the current values of today do not align with those of the past.

One reason readers do not see Liberty as admirable is because Rand values women’s obedience over their independence. For example, Liberty 5-3000 tells the character called Equality 7-2521, “Do as you please with us, but do not send us away from you,” (Rand 83). This proves how completely and willingly Liberty submits to another person. This quote shows Rand’s belief that women must have something in their lives to control them, and that their power lies only in their ability to choose who to follow. Leadership is a more valued trait in women in current times. Readers no longer see Liberty’s declaration as admirable. Instead, it insinuates that Liberty is desperate and clingy. Liberty’s lack of independence makes modern readers think that she is a spineless coward unwilling to make her own decisions. This point is further emphasized when Equality 7-2521 writes “that [Liberty’s] eyes, so hard and scornful to the world, were looking at [Equality] as if they would obey any word [he] might speak,” (Rand 55). This quote implies that Liberty is akin to a wild animal that Equality has tamed. In today’s society, women are less feared than they once were, so the fact that Liberty now defers to someone else is not seen as a triumph. However, Rand, conditioned by a society that was too afraid to let women lead, saw Liberty’s submission to Equality as character growth instead of regression. So, because Rand did not admire the powerful, independent women that society admires today, Rand wrote Liberty in such a way that readers do not sympathize with Liberty’s loyalties or appreciate the direction Liberty grows in. 

Rand chose to write about Liberty in such a way that her actions and body are more significant to the story than her thoughts and feelings, which causes readers to lose respect for Liberty. For example, the end of the book does not mention anything about Liberty’s emotional state or thoughts. Instead, it only mentions Liberty when Equality writes, “Gaea is pregnant with my child,” (Rand 100). This quote shows how Rand only mentions Liberty in terms of what Liberty’s body can do for Equality. This makes sense when placed in the context of a time where the society only views women in terms of what they can do for others, and in a time where it is supposed that women’s thoughts are lesser than the thoughts of men. However, in modern times, the value of a woman no longer rests solely on her ability to perform actions that others want. As the statue of an “admirable woman” becomes more life-like, the value upon the intentions, thoughts, and feelings behind every woman’s actions has gone up, and just hearing about what Liberty does is no longer enough to earn modern reader’s admiration. This change in societal values is emphasized by a scene where Equality and Liberty walk in the forest, and Equality turns around to admire Liberty’s body. Equality does not speak to Liberty and Liberty “waits obediently, without questions, till it pleases [Equality] to turn and go,” (Rand 85). This shows that Equality does not care to know Liberty’s thoughts, only to admire her body. Liberty’s and Equality’s decision to not speak to each other dehumanizes Liberty to modern readers. Equality is the narrator of the story, so readers learn his thoughts and intentions. He does not value Liberty’s thoughts, so readers never get to know them. Since Rand lived in a time where a woman’s looks were more admired than her thoughts, Rand wrote Liberty with the assumption that just her body was enough to gain readers’ admiration. Now that society focuses on humanizing women instead of objectifying them, just Liberty’s body isn’t enough to impress modern readers. So, because society no longer sees women as objects, but instead as full people whose intentions matter, Rand’s depiction of Liberty only as the sum of her actions is not enough to satisfy her audience. 

Finally, current audiences who appreciate women who speak out to improve the world do not admire Liberty. Rand believed that women should be quiet and demure while men made big plans, and her character, Liberty, embodies this ideal woman. For example, upon arriving at the house from the Unmentionable Times, Liberty does not try to make discoveries to improve the world. Instead, she “[falls] asleep on the floor amidst jewels and bottles of crystal, and flowers of silk,” (Rand 92). Instead of trying to impact the world through her own thought and research, Liberty is only concerned with her own luxurious comfort. Rand’s philosophies encourage selfishness, which is not a socially admired trait. However, her biases against women led Rand to write Liberty as uninterested in pursuing her own ideas and incapable of forming her own thoughts. This belief of Rand’s causes Liberty to be complicit in the future subjugation and exclusion of women. For example, when making plans, Equality writes that he will fight “for the freedom of Man. For his rights. For his honor,” (Rand 104). This quote shows that Equality plans for a revolution, and that this revolution will exclude women. This suggests that Equality does not view women as full people deserving of freedom like he views men. Current readers are unimpressed that Liberty did not do anything to change Equality’s plans so that they would include women. They see that Liberty’s lack of foresight will doom women to centuries of oppression once again. Rand’s belief that women should be quiet and demure causes Liberty to be unadmired by current readers who believe women should speak up and fight for justice. 

As the independence, thoughts, and voices of women became admired by society, the appreciation readers had for Liberty plummeted. Liberty is the ideal woman of another time, but she is no longer an ideal by today’s standards. Current readers can analyze the book Anthem to discover how society’s ideal woman changes over time. With each generation, the hope is that the untouchable, unrelatable statue of an “admirable woman” will be reanimated to accurately reflect the dynamic, living reality. Liberty is not an admirable character because Rand saw her as a woman before a person, and in doing so she ends up with a caricature that does not stand the test of time.