Who was Bjorn Faulkner?
That is the premise of the wonderful play written by Ayn Rand. I have just finished reading it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. The play asks the audience ( who play the role of the jury) whether Bjorn Faulkner, a wealthy aristocrat, who had swindled millions, been murdered by his mistress or others ( wife, father in law) and for what possible motives. The beauty of the play is that there is no ending to it. The jury/audience gets to hear both the viewpoints, which balance the evidence against the accused, Ms. Andre. And on the basis of such testimonies, the jury is required to come to a conclusion, after which, the author has written the two contrasting reactions of Ms. Andre.
I would not like to go into the details of the case, but would recommend this play to everyone. It is simple, and like past Ayn Rand writings, brings out the individuality of the protagonists and their conflict with the socialist, do good for all, believe in "WE" mentality of the society. And like past Ayn Rand writings, it makes you question the need to follow certain social norms, unless you believe in them. For example, she questions the need for lovers to get married. But do not assume that she questions the institution of marriage, instead, she questions why people accept the institution on face value, and instead not follow it because they believe in it. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Well, I would say read the play, and maybe these lines will become clearer.
So what is the verdict according to me? The question asked of the jurors is whether Ms. Karen Andre is guilty of the murder of Mr. Faulkner. I think not. I would say that there was no evidence provided in the case. Using the ever popular line, it was all circumstantial evidence, with no character ever revealing the whole truth, as is evident from the convenient revealing of certain pieces of the puzzle by the witnesses.
But is Mr. Faulkner really dead or is he alive, waiting to be joined by Ms. Andre? Now that is a question which would bewilder quite a few now!!! My take is that Mr. Faulkner is alive,but has faked his death not only to the world, but also to his lover, Ms. Andre, with whom the plot was conceived. A man like Mr. Faulkner would not like being tied to anything, even to love. Hence, he would have gone on to re-start his life, away from all the people who ever knew him. Why would he do so? Simple, to LIVE ON!!! And also because all Ayn Rand Protagonist males are supermen. They do not have a weakness, and have a simple mandate...which is to LIVE.
In a nutshell, another cracker of a story from Ayn Rand. Enjoy it!!!
2 comments:
brilliant bhai...ill read this one when i get back....on the all ayn rand men being 'supermen'..was having a discussion on the same topic a few days back wrt how ppl like howard roark dont exist in real lfe...aand abt how every girl who has read the book thinks she's dominique francon!
That is an age old discussion, which I believe everyone has. Must be whats called growing up!!!
Anyways, I have also given it a lot of thought, and have realised that sometimes, Ayn Rand is just too idealistic, and is sort of "corrupting". We all start believing in objectivism, and start doing " I this, I that"..but we forget the basic tenet of the philosophy, which is all about being humble. Somehow, we all have to move in that direction.
Saying that, I was wondering how contradictory this sounds, as soon as we put in " we" instead of " I"... :)
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