Publication

Abstract : pThe protagonists in the fictional world of Ayn Rand seem to possess the recipe to happiness that matches Hungarian psychologist Csikszentmihalyi’s conditions for a “flow experience”. This study examines the conditions that lead to the state of “flow” in Ayn Rand’s fiction The Fountainhead, with the aim of discovering the criteria that contribute to the leading of a happy life. Although a few critics have discussed the pursuit of happiness in Rand’s novels, the objective of this research is to make a difference by attempting to use Csikszentmihalyi’s psychological theory to understand Rand’s characterization and ascertain the factors that play a major role in the making of a psychologically healthy individual, who as a consequence is frequently in a state of “flow”. © AesthetixMS 2018./p